Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Have you ever struggled to ask God for forgiveness? Sometimes I feel that others around me are doing so well in their faith that they “deserve” God’s grace more than I do. However, In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a story that radically changes how we understand God’s mercy.

In this story, Jesus illustrates the difference in the hearts of a seemingly holy Pharisee and a despised tax collector. While the Pharisee stands before God and boasts of all his good deeds, the tax collector takes a different approach, completely and wholeheartedly humbling himself before God.

Luke 18:13
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’”

Imagine the shame the tax collector felt when he heard the Pharisee’s righteous prayer (Luke 18:9-12). He must have seen the Pharisee—seemingly doing all the “right” things to earn God’s favor—and wondered if God could forgive a sinner like himself. 

But in his plea to God, the tax collector revealed his heart in its rawest form. Despite the sins he had committed or the potential laws he had broken, the tax collector showed us that the Lord covers all sin if we humbly and wholeheartedly ask for his forgiveness.

Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector humbled himself before God and acknowledged that he, like every one of us, has sinned. While the Pharisee was proud of everything he did in God’s name, he did not seem to feel the same sense of sorrow for his sins that the tax collector did. The tax collector recognized his deep need for mercy. He did not try to convince God how “good” he was or that he deserved God’s favor. Instead of relying on his own works to earn God’s grace, he placed his faith solely in the abundant grace God offers to anyone who trusts in him.

As we go through our days ahead, remember that no matter what we try to accomplish or how “holy” we may seem outwardly, it is our humility and the state of our hearts that matters most to God.

Questions:
Why is it so easy to fall into the trap of trying to earn God’s favor, like the Pharisee in this story?

How can you be more like the tax collector and humble yourself before God in your prayers?

Next Steps:
Read Luke 18:9-14 and reflect on whether your prayers are more similar to the Pharisee’s or to the tax collector’s.

Ask God to reveal ways in which you can better humble yourself and be more authentic in your heart and prayers.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for forgiving me for my sins. Forgive me for the times that I have boasted to try to earn your favor instead of completely humbling myself before you in prayer. Help me to have the heart of the tax collector in this story, and give me the courage to bare my heart and confess my sins before you. Help me to recognize the need for your mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Romans 6:14
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

This post was written by Isabelle Billnitzer, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.