Experiencing The Love of God

Experiencing the Love of God
Read Luke 7:36-50
The burning heart of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus was partly due to their enlightened understanding that they were recipients of the blessings of Christ’s suffering, as He taught them from the Scriptures. Their burning heart of love for Christ was the result of His sacrificial, burning heart of love for them, and their awareness of that divine love. Jesus taught this same truth in Luke 7 to the Pharisee named Simon.
Simon did not love Jesus less than the woman because he had fewer sins. No, he had a multitude of sins—of the worst kind—legalistic, religious hypocrisy, among many others. Rather, he had no love for the Lord Jesus because he neither saw his sins nor his need to be forgiven of them. In vivid contrast, the woman loved Jesus with unashamed abandon. J. C. Ryle explains the cause and effect in the woman’s actions:
Her many tears, her deep affection, her public reverence, her action in anointing His feet, were all traceable to one cause. She had been forgiven, and so she loved much. Her love was the effect of her forgiveness—not the cause; the consequence of her forgiveness—not the condition; the result of her forgiveness—not the reason; the fruit of her forgiveness—not the root. . . . Forever let this mighty principle laid down by our Lord . . . sink down into our hearts. . . . It is one of the secrets of the kingdom of God. The only way to make men holy is to teach and preach free and full forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The secret of being holy ourselves, is to know and feel that Christ has pardoned our sins.2
In Jesus’ parable (vv. 41-42), the favorable position is the greater debtor (500 denarii) with much love, not the lesser debtor (50 denarii) with little love. We move toward the 500 denarii debtor not by sinning more, but by a greater, deeper recognition and confession of our sins. As a believer matures the focus of sanctification moves from the outward, obvious sins to the inward, hidden heart sins of petty attitudes, wrong beliefs, spiritual idolatries and even sinful feelings. When we see the greater depth and breadth of our sins and the corresponding love of God for us in Christ, the result is greater love for our Savior. Such awareness, confession and repentance should be part of our daily pursuit of a burning heart.
Father today help me love those that don't love me. I can love those that love me without even thinking about it but today I am going to be at a place where some of the people resent and have problems with me. Please give me a heart to love them. Father please let my spirit come under subjection to you and nothing be in my heart but pure love for all I see. Thank you. Amen