Reflections from a Camino walk and the story of the woman who wept at Jesus’ feet.
Today I walked a section of the Camino de Santiago from Vila Chã to Vila do Conde with my father-in-law, Craig, and two young women who have been spending time with us learning about ministry in northern Portugal.
As we walked, Craig led us through an Oral Bible Teaching (OBT) experience using Luke 7:36–50. Rather than reading the passage, he told the story and invited us to discover it together through observation and reflection.
One statement from Jesus stayed with me:
“Whoever has been forgiven little loves little, but whoever has been forgiven much loves much.”
Luke 7:47
For many years, I heard this verse through the lens of comparison & judgement; as though Jesus were talking about people who had committed more sins versus those who had committed fewer.
But during our discussion, I began to wonder if something deeper was happening.
What if Jesus wasn’t talking about the amount of sin?
What if He was talking about our awareness of grace?
The more I walk with Jesus, the more I recognize how much He has rescued me; not only from specific sins, but from pride, fear, self-reliance, and countless ways my heart drifts from Him.
The deeper my understanding of His grace, the deeper my gratitude becomes.
Perhaps those who have been “forgiven much” are simply those who have come to see more clearly how much they have been forgiven.
And gratitude naturally follows.
As I continued walking the Camino, my prayer became:
Lord, help me see more clearly all the ways You have loved, forgiven, rescued, and transformed me.
May my understanding of Your grace continue to grow, so that my gratitude may grow as well.
And may that gratitude become a life of worship.
Please Pray:
Personal Prayer:
- For continued tender hearts (mine and those I do life with) to continue to grow in the awareness of God’s grace and to live out a life of gratitude
Ministry Updates
- Rachel and Hannah return home June 21.
- Greg and Jen will be in the UK June 28–July 4 for TeamWorks meetings.
- House Church Vila do Conde continues studying Matthew together.
- The Hodge family returns to Portugal July 13.
Greg and Jen Weaver