…A woman in the city, which was a sinner…brought an alabaster box of ointment…and began to wash his [Jesus’] feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Jesus: I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much. And he said unto her, “Thy sins are forgiven.” And he said to the woman, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” …
— Luke 7:36—50*
***
“How pure love for God brings forgiveness of sins”
The devotee who seeks redemption by attuning his actions to the righteous guidance of divine law and also implores with pure devotion and faith the unconditional love of God, will be transformed in God’s light of forgiveness.
There is no doubt about this divine assurance: Any sin, and its consequence, can be forgiven the repentant devotee who loves God deeply enough, and thereby puts his life in tune with the all-compassionate Lord.
Love is greater than law; it is the unifying thread that attaches the devotee’s heart to the unconditional heart of God. Law is based upon impersonal justice weighed according to the principle of cause and effect; but love claims God as our own forgiving Father-Mother whose all-embracing mercy abides whether or not the full measure of the law has been met.
See also~~Love, Love and Only Love ~ Bro. Anandamoy, devotee notes
The sinful woman forgiven by Jesus loved much because despite the magnitude of her sins, in the presence of divine love she felt no condemnation but rather faith in its redeeming power. And like the man in the parable who was forgiven his greater debt relative to the debtor forgiven little, her love was magnified by the awesome forgiveness she received through the medium of her devotion and faith and the blessing of the Christ in Jesus.* ….
Thus one who loves much is forgiven much; and one who is forgiven much, loves even more.
* “All the wickedness in the world that man might work or think is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea.”—William Langland, fourteenth-century English mystical poet. (footnote)
Paramahansa Yogananda, The Second Coming of Christ
~~~~~~~
BACK TO
Yogananda Site 