A Love Like No Other

Today I want to tell you a story about a woman you may have heard of. She was an addict who lived many years ago, she met Jesus and her life was never the same again. I'll let her tell you the rest -

I am Mary Magdalene...you may have heard of me, the history books say that I was a woman of ill repute.  It's true that I am well known in the city of Magdala ....

I come from a wealthy family and was nothing to speak of until the bottom dropped out of my world.  One painful thing after another happened.  I had a nervous breakdown.  I just couldn't take any more pain and I went mad. I was tormented day and night by thoughts of suicide and death.  I turned to drink, anything to make me forget.  Nothing helped, my life was a living hell and to make it worse, nobody at all bothered to try and understand.

They called me ‘possessed' and threw me out of the Synagogue.  I might have been bleeding to death in front of those religious leaders and not one of them would have cared.  They just didn't want to get their hands or their nice temple dirty.  God to me was cold and uncaring,  All he wanted was my money and that I should live as a prisoner to a thousand rules that I couldn't possibly keep.

All I wanted was a friend, somebody who cared enough to find out what was going on inside.  I felt as if I was hanging from a cliff edge by my fingernails and nobody, not God, not anybody would mind if I fell.

Then as a last resort, Doctor Luke took me to meet Jesus.  There had been talk about this new Prophet but I'd lost all hope, after all what help I expect from a religious leader?From a distance, we could see Him.  He was surrounded by crowds all waiting for the next miracle.  I felt sorry for Him it was like they all wanted a part of Him.  I turned to go, but something inside of me knew that if I left now I'd regret it for the rest of my life.

The crowds just seemed to part like the Red Sea as I called his name, 'Jesus!'

And there I was face to face with the kindest, gentlest, most loving face I had ever, ever seen. And do you know what He said?  ‘So you came dear Mary'...it was like He'd been expecting me.I fell to my knees and in that moment I knew that God was not like the religious leaders said but that He was here in this gentle man.  And that all He wanted to do was to take me in his arms and hold me until all the pain had left.  Here was my Lord, my Saviour and my Friend.

My story has some similarities to Mary's.  Here are some things I found out that you should know.

Jesus never turns anyone away.
He loves you, past, present and future.
He understands how cold, painful and cruel this world can be.
He knows you and He can help you.
He sees all the good in you and He wants to restore you.
He is always with you.

Whatever happened to bring you to this point, I am sorry for all the pain you have gone through.  I'm saying sorry on behalf of all the people who should have said it to you long ago. All I know is that you can be free of the shackles that you wear.  Take your ropes and chains to the One who can loose you. He did not and does not want you to wear them.

'God's mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.'C.H. Spurgeon