LA Story – Forgiven

Forgiven. The word is like magic. This account in Luke 7 describes an incident that transformed the reputation of “a woman who had lived a sinful life” into Mary, the sister of Lazarus and friend of Jesus (John 11:2). Modern-day accounts of this miracle story are still played out in God’s Kingdom today. I am reminded of Ken and Jessica (the names and exact details have been changed for obvious reasons). They were disciples, married for 15 years with three beautiful children. To the observer, they had a beautiful marriage, a beautiful family, and a beautiful life. But things were very different behind closed doors. He was harsh and demanding. She was rebellious and distant. There had been problems from the beginning, but they were not open with other disciples who could have helped. He increasingly drew his happiness from his work. She was emotionally starving, and Satan was quickly on the scene with just the person to fill her emotional needs. Soon she was in a full-blown affair. For months Jessica was able to keep it a secret, but the inevitable day came when Ken found out. Jessica did the unthinkable; she left Ken and her three children to be with her illicit lover. Gloria searched for Jessica, went after her, and was finally able to convince her to come home.