Reading
SAA Notes
This is both a beautiful and disturbing incident in Jesus’ life. We are thrilled by His compassion and mercy and acceptance. We should be disturbed when we consider His meaning – do I love little? Have I not sought Divine forgiveness?
SJA Notes
* Holy God, Your word is holy – May we hold it as such in our lives today and onwards.
“But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
How do we think about what happened at the cross on that day when creation itself bowed asunder at the death of the Creator?
Because that is what Jesus is pointing us to here.
How can we quantify the “amount” or “level” of forgiveness shown to us – Is this possible?
Do we go looking for a measurement?
Are we tempted to keep a tally of the things the Lord might have forgiven us for, so that we can measure against another?
“But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Jesus is not saying He has forgiven us _little_.
DO WE THINK WE ARE BETTER THAN ANOTHER?
If we think we are above another, if we make the mental decision to think that way – We are quantifying God’s forgiveness, that we don’t have as much to be forgiven as that other person.
This is a hard word to us today.
Because if we think we are better than another then our love suffers.
And it is a lie.
Because we were all dead in our sin, a stony heart in absolute rejection of God. A binary state (no grey area).
We are forgiven much! So let us love much.
* Father God,
Thank You for Your grace and mercy to us.
Thank You that You have forgiven us much.
Please help us love much.
Amen.