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Several years ago I was working at the office of a C-grade apartment community when a car rolled into the parking lot.
On two tires.
Only the right two had air in them. The left tires had both been flattened when the driver apparently ran over a divider on the way in.
The driver parked and we witnessed her knocking on the door of an apartment we later learned was a drug house. There was no one home, so she kept knocking, going back and forth from her car to the front door of the apartment. She was shaking. She had needle marks on her arm.
This was a woman our world calls a "junkie."
The situation escalated and we eventually had to call the police. Later the police had to take the woman away. As I walked by her car, I saw a couple things on the passenger seat. A book about God. A "To-Do" list for her week. My heart softened.
Eventually her father arrived at the apartment complex. He was upset about the situation and we dealt with it the best we could. I remember being a little bothered that he was bothered. I thought to myself, this isn't our fault!
A little while later, I got in my car to leave the complex and as I drove toward the exit I saw him standing there...still waiting for a tow truck to remove the car. I stopped for a moment. He looked heart-broken and tired. I told him I was sorry. He said "Thank you."
As I drove away that day, it hit me. All day I had been seeing the woman as a "junkie." After looking into her father's eyes at the end of the day, on my drive away the word "princess" came to my mind. With young daughters of my own, I finally saw it. This was a Daddy's Princess.
In Luke 7 a Pharisee became bothered. Simon was the Pharisee. He invited Jesus for dinner and a woman showed up. A woman with a difficult story. Simon wasn't seeing a woman. He was seeing her problems. And he said to himself, about Jesus: "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner." It must be interesting for God to have us humans "break some news" to Him. Ha! "Do you see this woman?" he asked Simon. The gentle Jesus was perhaps suggesting Simon wasn't seeing a woman at all. And so Jesus affirmed her publicly. He forgave her. He extolled her great love. And then He sent her off with a blessing: "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
The heart of Jesus! He is so wonderful. The defender of the weak. The only true hope. And the great hoper (is that a word?). Jesus, the Great Hoper. Love always hopes.
May we see like Jesus sees, affirm like He affirmed, forgive like He forgave, and bless like He blessed.
May our hope be in Jesus alone. And may we hope like Jesus for everyone we meet.
Glory to God.
-- The Behind Every Door Team
