Devotional series aug 3-6
This Devotional Series is based on a message delivered on August 2, 2026 and can be viewed at: https://www.kallamgrove.org/messages/isn-t-christianity-just-about-rules-and-judgement/
Jesus asks a remarkable question: “Do you see this woman?”
Luke 7:44-46
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.”
Jesus asks Simon a remarkable question: “Do you see this woman?”
Of course, Simon had noticed her. He had seen her the moment she walked into the room. He knew her reputation. He knew her past. In his mind, he had already decided who she was. But noticing someone is not the same as seeing them. Jesus saw what Simon could not. Simon saw a label. Jesus saw a person. Simon saw a sinner. Jesus saw someone made in the image of God who had come seeking mercy.
It is easy for us to do what Simon did. We can reduce people to a single chapter of their lives. We define them by their failures, political views, personality, or the mistakes they have made. Once we place a label on someone, we often stop looking any deeper. Jesus never ignored sin, but neither did He reduce people to it. He told the truth about this woman’s past, yet He also saw her faith, her humility, and her love. Grace enabled Him to see the whole person.
As followers of Christ, we are called to cultivate that same kind of vision. Imagine how our homes, churches, and communities would change if we truly saw people the way Jesus does. We would become quicker to listen, slower to judge, and more eager to extend compassion. The next person you encounter may be carrying burdens you know nothing about. Ask the Lord to help you see them, not through the lens of their reputation, but through the eyes of Christ.
Reflection Question: Is there someone you have been defining by a label instead of seeing as a person loved by God?
Prayer:Lord, give me eyes to see people with the compassion and grace of Jesus.
Love is the fruit of grace.
Luke 7:47
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Jesus is not teaching that the woman’s love earned her forgiveness. In the parable He had just told, the debt was canceled first, and only then did love follow. Her extravagant love was not the cause of God’s grace. It was the evidence that she had already received it. Think about how gratitude works in everyday life. When someone rescues you from a desperate situation, your appreciation naturally overflows. You do not manufacture gratitude. It springs from realizing what has been done for you. The same is true spiritually. The more deeply we understand the greatness of God’s forgiveness, the more naturally our hearts will love Him. Love is the fruit of grace.
Sometimes our love for Christ grows cold because we have forgotten what He has saved us from. We compare ourselves to others instead of looking honestly at our own need for mercy. We begin to think of ourselves as respectable people who needed only a little forgiveness. The gospel tells a different story. Every believer has been rescued from a debt that could never have been repaid. Whether our outward sins seemed great or small, we all stood equally in need of God’s grace. Spend time this week reflecting on the cross. Remember the price Jesus paid to forgive your sins. Gratitude grows wherever the gospel is remembered.
Reflection Question: When was the last time you intentionally reflected on the greatness of God’s forgiveness in your own life?
Prayer: Father, fill my heart with fresh gratitude as I remember the grace You have shown me in Christ.
She brought a broken heart
Psalm 51:16-17
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
David wrote these words after his own devastating failure. He had sinned grievously, and he knew there was nothing he could offer God to make up for it. That truth is reflected in the woman who came to Jesus. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, but the most important thing she brought was her broken heart. Her tears spoke louder than her words. She came with no excuses, no self defense, and no attempt to justify herself. God has always delighted in humble hearts more than religious performance.
There is something freeing about that. We often think we must clean ourselves up before coming to God. We imagine that we need to become stronger, more disciplined, or more spiritual before He will receive us. The gospel teaches the opposite. We come because we are needy. We come because we cannot fix ourselves. We come because Jesus welcomes sinners who know they need His mercy. A broken heart is not something to hide from God. It is something to bring to Him. He does not despise those who come honestly before Him. He welcomes them with grace.
If you have failed this week, do not run from God. Run to Him. The same Savior who welcomed the sinful woman still welcomes all who come to Him in repentance and faith.
Reflection Question: Are you trying to impress God with your performance, or are you humbly coming to Him through grace?
Prayer: Lord, give me a humble heart that trusts completely in Your mercy.
Forgiven people become forgiving people
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
The story of Simon and the sinful woman leaves us with an important question. What should God’s forgiveness produce in us? Paul gives the answer. Those who have been forgiven become forgiving people.
When we truly understand the grace we have received, it changes the way we treat others. We become more patient because we remember God’s patience with us. We become more compassionate because we remember His compassion. We become more willing to forgive because we know the immeasurable debt that Christ has forgiven.
This does not mean forgiveness is always easy. Some wounds run deep, and rebuilding trust may take time. Forgiveness is not pretending sin did not happen. Jesus certainly did not ignore the woman’s sin. Instead, forgiveness means releasing our right to seek revenge and entrusting justice to God. Simon’s greatest problem was that he underestimated his own need for grace. People who know they have been forgiven much tend to extend grace more freely.
As you interact with others this week, remember that every person you meet needs the same grace that you needed. The church should be a place where forgiven people joyfully extend forgiveness to others.
Reflection Question: Is there someone who needs to experience the same grace from you that Christ has shown to you?
Prayer: Father, help me extend to others the kindness, mercy, and forgiveness that You have so generously shown to me.