Pastor’s Corner: “Waves of Forgiveness”
Luke 7:47 (ESV) – Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
How do you explain to a child who’s never been to the ocean what waves are like? You might fill a bathtub with water and splash it back and forth. That could teach action of waves – but what about the look? You might take the child to a nearby river with a few rapids, and show them how the foam collects at the bottom of a fall “like on top of a wave.” You might show them a photograph. You might try to show them what waves sound like with a conch shell. But what about their vast dimensions along the shore? What about their unending nature? What about the undercurrent of a wave going back to sea? No substitute can convey the scale and true nature of waves continually breaking on the shore. No analogies or to-scale models prepare children for their first trip to the beach. They can’t grasp the greatness until they’ve seen it for themselves.
Have you seen the greatness of God’s forgiveness yet? No measure of teaching, preaching, and analogizing can make us really grasp what God’s forgiveness means. Even after we reach adulthood, we’re still creatures of experience. It takes a firsthand experience – recognition of how vast our sins really are – before we can appreciate how vast God’s mercy is to cover them.
A Pharisee invited Jesus to his house for dinner. A woman of ill repute started to weep and wipe his feet with her tears. She anointed him with expensive perfume. The Pharisee was upset that Jesus would let such a sinful woman touch him. In response to this Pharisee, Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people — 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon [the pharisee] answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Luke 7:41-43 (NLT)
The woman saw her need and was broken by her sin. All the Pharisee heard were Jesus words. He only saw the woman’s sin and not his own. He failed to realize what a vast stretch of sand he stood on, and what a great tide it would take to overtake all of those grains of sand. As a result, it’s the woman Jesus recognizes for her great love of her Savior.
If we never grasp the depth of our sinful nature, we will never understand the enormity of God’s grace in forgiving us. Whoever sees no need for the cross of Christ, will never embrace it. Recognition of our need for forgiveness is the evidence of a repentant heart. By his attitude, it is apparent that the Pharisee is trying to maintain his right standing with God through his self-righteousness. Pride blinded him to his sin. The woman’s actions indicated she realized that only Jesus could save her. Her reasonable response to this revelation was to love him. And love him, she did. The next time we are tempted to judge someone without first looking at our sin, we should remember, but for the grace of God there go I. Whoever has been forgiven much, loves much.
Is it possible that we can extend love and forgiveness if we don’t understand how much Christ has shown us? 1 Peter 4:8 (NLT) – 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Take your own “beach trip” and survey the vastness of God’s incredible forgiveness that covers all sin.
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton