Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-11-16

Jesus could tell by the look Or
his face what was going on ir ST
| mons heart, so He asked him 6
question and told him a story-the
Larable of the creditor and his tWt
Gebtors-one of those matchless sto
ries Of His that have never been
equalled by any teacher. The para
BILE was then appIied-and Simon
realized that there were different
ways of sin to show itself, ard
that here indeed was a friend OF
sinners. For Jesus saw something
in this woman that Simon did nos
see-her repentance and her faith
Somewhere she had been the Friend
Of man, and had been won from
her life Of sin. by His kindly sym
pathy and loving kindness. His
hard heart had been broken and
the Lord Christ had entered in. She
had brought all that she had to
give him and had found Him il
Simons house. Her sins, which were
many, were forgiven, for she loved
much. But it was not her love
that saved her; it was her faith
which was back of, and which man
ifested itself by her love.
A Friend Indeed
This was what made Jesus Christ
so different from Simon and from
all men. He saw things in people
that others didn't suspect were
there; He felt their real needs and
set about to supply them. A friend
has been described as one who
knows all about YOU and yet loves
you just the same.
There was something deeper than
this. however, in the friendship
which Jesus showed for sinners.
Really there were three elements in
it-Eis view of God, His view of
man, and His view of sin. Jesus had
a conception of God which was new
to the world. They had thought of
God as harsh exacting, tyrannical,
cruel. Jesus thought of God always
as Father with all the tenderness
that immc .surable love begets. He
knew that God had made man for
His glory, or as Augustine stated it
afterWard-"Thou hast made us for
Thyself." It grieved the Fathers
heart for one to be away from Him.
Not only are we restless until we
rest in Him; but He is restless until
we COlIlS 1llIO p SAOoO ANASsS~SAAS---T
with Him. .. 80.
Then Jesus looked at man differ
emily from the rest of the world.
This Pharisee looked at himself cor
rect moral, punctilious in the obserV-
ance of his religious duties; He look
ed at this poor wreck OF what was
once a pure life, He thought OF NM
self as worth much and of her as
worthless-not worth doing anything
for, a hopeless case. Furthermore
she was a woman! Every Jew thank
ed God that he had not been made q
woman. Woman's lot was a nara
one-a slave, a chattel, toy Tor
man to play with and then to dis
card.
But Jesus had different view. He
looked at man from the standpoint
OF eternity. He saw the worth OF
the Individual. He saw that sex had
no weight with the Father, that He
craved for the companionsh1p OF
every one who had been made in His
image, and who had gotten out OF
the way, His training also had CIV
en- Him a keen fellowfeeling for
those who had suffered. He was a
carpenters son. He had had the
support of a widowed mother ana
four young brothers and two or more
sisters thrown on His shoulders. He
knew the pinch of poverty; His back
had ached from hard work. He had
learned the bitterness of an evil
tongue in a little village notorious
for it's wickedness; He had undoubt-
eddy heard the ugly gossip which de-
clared that He Himself was bastard
child. Jesus knew mems sorrows
and sympathized with them.
Jesus also knew sin. 1t was not
with Him the failure to do this or
the doing of that. 1T was rebellion
against His Father; it was separation
from Him because of our insistence
on our own way. He did not con-
done it; He did not ignore it. He
frankly found it, and set about the
task of freeing from it's letters those
who were struggling in it's clutches.
That Face
No wonder then that sinners found
in His face a look that brought them
to Him. He showed that He under
stood, that He trusted them, that
He was able and willing to deliver
.then1-and sinners became His
friel DIS. for friendship such as His
begets friendship.
Simon saw it too; but he didn't
understand it because he was look
ing through the eyes of his own
righteousr ess, and didn't realize that
his Righteousness was nothing but
filthy rags.
Jesus wanted to be Simon's friend,
too-did the point of that parable
pierce the thick crust of his self
righteousness?
Jesus expects us to be friends of
sinners, too. What is your attitude
toward the woman who is a sinner?
Are you. criticising Him or His
friends for being friends? One of the
things which made Him such friend
of sinners was that He could be
pure and kind-there was no need
that His purity be protected. But
can you live so that there can be
no question about you no matter
with whom Won NAV he seen