I can’t tell if it’s good or bad that Christians don’t really know how to throw a bachelor party. On one level, it’s nice not having to worry about too much alcohol and a stripper, but on the other, we do strange things like make the groom dress up in drag then play tackle football with him.

I did this with an old friend of mine for his bachelor party because I didn’t know what else to do. It was odd enough that he willingly jumped into a dress and ran around outside like that, but it got worse when he took control of the whole shabang and decided that he was going to wash everyone’s feet. I’m sure this was a humbling thing to do, and it was an expression of love for his buddies (How could it be anything else? Dudes’ feet are NASTY). That said, it was one of the most awkward things I ever experienced, but it certainly gave me a story to tell. Because it was so unpleasant, I can’t relate to Jesus when Mary washed his feet with her hair and tears in Luke chapter seven; i guess it’s a time and culture difference.

One of the pharisees had invited Jesus over to dinner, and with Jesus having as much attention as He did at that time, Mary the harlot heard that He was going to be there. She grabbed her stash of perfume and brought it with her, and made it her intention to take care of Jesus. I don’t know how she got in, let alone how she made it to the table where Jesus sat, because as He allowed her to do this, the pharisee who invited Him over kept thinking to himself, “He’s letting a whore do that; He can’t be a prophet.”

Jesus knew what she had done with her life, and He chose not to hold that over her head. We see that with the parable of forgiveness that Jesus shared with the pharisee. What’s interesting is that Jesus chose not to identify this woman by her sin. He saw her heart of worship, and that was all that mattered.

I have a couple of lesbian friends who have come to church now, but are afraid of being discovered as lesbians. That’s how they identify themselves right now. Really what it amounts to is they’re taking ownership of their sin and making it bigger than it is. Understand that homosexuality is a sin, and one that has dramatic consequences, but here’s an opportunity for freedom for these two: they’re more than their sin.

They both happen to be moms, both work, one is a very athletic soccer player, the other a comedian. How is it then, that they choose to identify themselves as lesbians? Because it stands out? I don’t flippin’ know, I just with that they could understand that they’re so much more than that, because I think that they could let go of this sin, ask Jesus for forgiveness, and be everything else that they are. Maybe this is too much to handle, but what else is loving the sinner, hating the sin?

Let’s take this out of the context of my friends here, and look at other sins. People are more than fornicators, not just liars, probably less than simply wretched, do more than smoke a lot of weed, are more valuable than what I get out of them, and quite frankly, are multi-faceted. That said, don’t define yourself as something negative, especially by your sin. You are more than that, and that my friend, is why Jesus loves you. I on the other hand, am a little more shallow, and if you tell me all your dirt, might not be able to look at you the same ever again, so you might as well keep it to yourself. Mostly kidding.