Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?" Luke 7:44 (NCV)
Recently, I started taking walks every day. As I walk along, I pass people who are walking. Some have their ear buds in and are not paying attention. Even if you look at them, they don't look back. Some look at you and smile. Some wave. Some say hello. You never know what you are going to get.
But then, I pass by people with dogs. And the people still don't always look at me but the dogs always do. They look at your face, tilt their heads as if to say "Hello, are you friendly?" They invite you into their space. They put one step forward toward you as if extending an invitation of friendship. There is so much eagerness in their body language and mannerisms.
When Simon was using his body language and his thoughts to criticize the woman who came to worship Jesus, Jesus could see it and he knew what he was thinking. His response? Simon, do you really see her? Do you really know her heart and know who she is. Look at her. Really look at her.
What if we were more like dogs? Seriously. What if when we are passing each other on the street or checking out at the store or if we are walking down the hall at work.....what if we actually looked at each other, smiled and with our body language extended an invitation of friendship. What if we stopped being so busy that we tried to see each other's hearts.
I bet Jesus would be super happy with that.