Jealous Much?

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. – Luke 7:42-43

Have you ever been jealous of someone’s testimony? Didn’t feel like the cool kid because your “sinful past” was kind of boring? Scripture tells a story about the “sinful” woman who bathes Jesus’ feet while He was dining at a Pharisee’s home while the pharisee gets chastised by Jesus for his snotty behavior.. We almost read this and think it would be better to have some terrible lifestyle to come out of, so we can love Jesus all the more.

Not so, brothers and sisters. The Bible records many rebukes Jesus made to the Pharisees – the blind leading the blind and white-washed tombs coming to mind. Sinful is sinful. A sinner is an enemy of God, whether the sins seem small to us or much larger. This pharisee had just as much “testimony” as anyone else, even if he didn’t think so.

Jesus tells the story of a different Pharisee and a Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) who both went to the temple to pray. The tax collector confesses his sins; the Pharisee thanks God he is not like the tax collector. One went home justified before God. It is not that one was more sinful before God. It wasn’t that one needed to be forgiven more. Both had their issues, but only one recognizes it.

The Pharisees had their rules to follow, and from what they could tell, they were good at following them. They had their time of prayer each day, gave their tithes, didn’t get drunk or fool around. They were, however, unaware of their real need of God, perhaps because they were following the rules. Their focus was the rules and not God.

Confession is not meant to make us feel bad. We confess to remind ourselves how everything we have received from God is a gift. Nothing has been earned by our good behavior. Our confession is a gift. Our repentance is a gift. Our forgiveness is a gift.

So, when Jesus says that those who have been forgiven much, love much, He is not saying those who have come from the worst lifestyles have more capacity to love. We all need God. Those who are more aware of their need, will be all the more grateful and loving to God as well as to others around them

Thank you for your prayers. We need them. Thank you for your faith on our behalf, we cherish it.