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“Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. ‘Simon,’ he said to the Pharisee, ‘I have something to say to you.’” (Luke 7:40 NLT)
“You’re in a ‘spazzy’ mood today. I’m sure you’ll break something.”
The mind reader had struck again.
Let me clarify. I’ve never visited a mind reader, but I live with one. My wife and I have an uncanny ability to read each other’s minds, and she was doing it again. She claims it’s because we’re “soul mates.” Maybe she’s right. I suppose it comes from living together, spending quality time with each other, having similar likes and dislikes, and reaching for the same goals. When significant decisions approach, I know her answer, and she knows mine—even though we discuss the matter to make sure. Sometimes, it’s freaky to think someone else knows what I’m thinking.
I suppose Simon the Pharisee felt the same. He had invited Jesus to his religious party. But Simon didn’t invite the sinful woman who showed up, too. Why he didn’t ask her to leave is a mystery.
As Simon watched the woman cry over Jesus’ feet and anoint them with perfume, he concluded this couldn’t be the long-awaited Messiah. He wouldn’t allow a sinful woman like this to touch Him. Simon didn’t know it, but Jesus read his thoughts—and then answered them with a story of two debtors who had their debts forgiven.
Knowing Jesus can read our thoughts is comforting—yet disturbing. Comforting because sometimes our situations are such that we can’t adequately express what we want to say. The grief slices too deeply. The pain is almost unbearable. We can’t put into words what we want to say. God assures us we don’t have to. Paul wrote, “But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in word” (Romans 8:26 NLT).
Disturbing because there are those times when I shudder to realize Jesus knows what I’m thinking. Those times when my mind has wandered into areas it has no business traveling. When I’m not thinking about things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Jesus can help reorient the direction of our minds as well—onto healthier turf.
Don’t be afraid to let Jesus read your mind. Only good can come from it.
Martin Wiles
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