Loving Much

Hey guys! Things are going great down here at Caravan.  Our summer has started down here, with week long groups ever week.  We built houses every day this week with a group from Washington called Snohomish.  Monday we poured a 12x16 floor which was a lot of fun.  I've been pouring cement down here for the past year and I love working with cement.  Last weekend we went to the beach in Rosarito for the day.  We blew out a tire on the way there which was interesting.  The tire iron we had was crap and so we had to flag down some Mexicans to help us out, their tire iron wasn't really any better, so I had to call our tire guy to drive out to us the 45 minutes to change our tire, but we made it to the beach alright.  It was a great day of bonding with one another.  During orientation 2 weeks ago we built one of our 12x12 houses next door and for 2 weeks at a time staff stay in there to experience what a Mexican experiences.  So the past 2 weeks Clayton, Caleb, Spencer, and I have been staying in there and tonight's our last night, it's been a good two weeks.  Today, I went and worked with Spectrum at their bath house.  Spectrum is a ministry here in Tijuana run by Pastor Von and my boss Eddie's son Aaron.  They work in neighborhoods with kids and every Thursday and every other Saturday and set up tents to bathe boys and delice girls.  They give out food, new clothes, wash feet, play, and love on the kids.  It's been a blast working with them and their staff and being poured into by them.  This next week we have 2 groups in, one from Minnesota and one from Canada and we're building 4 houses a day.

So onto what I'm learning.  As a guys staff, the 7 of us have been doing a bible study through Luke.  In the spring I started a bible study with Michael and Clayton through Colossians and bible study has been really fruitful.  We went through Luke 7 and the story that impacted me was the story of the sinful woman. 

 "One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.   And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.   When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”  Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”  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.Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”  And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

What really hit me was the fact that this woman was weeping over her sin, because she was so distraught over it and realized the depravity of it and how much she needed Jesus.  But what hit me the most is what Jesus said about this woman.  That she loved much.  She loved because she was forgiven not the other way around.  And so I asked myself, Do I love much?  Do I love God much?  Do I love others much? Am I overwhelmed by forgiveness?  These questions are ones I'm still wrestling through but this woman loved much.  What does that even mean to love much, or what does it even look like?  One way I know I can work on this is by praying different.  Because I think that the way we prayer shows a lot about our love and appreciation for God.  I want to be pouring myself into prayer and loving my God much by talking to him and doing what he tells me to do.  To me overwhelmed by his forgiveness and grace and to tell others about The Forgiver and The Gracious and only God.  Do you love much?