It's Not Fair: The Often Surprising And Always Amazing Grace Of GodSample

In today’s passage, Jesus tells yet another astonishing parable. A Pharisee was a kind of Jewish religious leader. They were so committed to their religion that they even kept lots of extra rules on top of all of God’s commandments because they thought it would help them earn God’s love. At the time Jesus told this parable, the Pharisees were well-respected. Most people thought they were the “best” religious people. Most people thought the Pharisees had the highest chance at earning God’s love. As you might remember from yesterday’s lesson, the tax collectors were not well-respected. They were disliked by most people. Most people thought of tax collectors as very sinful and unlikely to be able to earn God’s love.

When the Pharisee prays, he stands and talks to God about what a great person he is. He tells God about how he has not sinned and how he has fasted and tithed. He thanks God for these things, but he seems more focused on bragging about himself than praising God. He seems to think he can earn God’s love and that he should tell God all the ways he has done so through his rule-keeping.

The tax collector, on the other hand, is humble. He acknowledges that he is a sinner and asks God for mercy. Jesus says the tax collector is the one who went home justified before God. Being forgiven by God is not about how much rule-keeping you can do. Instead, it is about humbly asking God for something you know you do not deserve. God gives His love and grace freely as a gift. We can’t earn it like the Pharisee tried to. This is shocking and wonderful news!

Sometimes we can start to feel like the Pharisee. We can become proud of all the ways we have kept the rules. It is good to keep God’s rules as a response to His love. Because He loves us, we should want to keep His rules. But it is not healthy to try to earn God’s love through our rule-keeping. Instead, we should always be humble like the tax collector. We should acknowledge the ways we are sinful and ask for God’s mercy. If we do, He will always give it to us because He loves us. Are there any ways you have been relying on rule-keeping to earn God’s love like the Pharisee? How can you maintain a humble heart like the tax collector?