Loving Much

 “…he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

(Luke 7:47 ESV)

Our tendency is to think we’re good people. Although we acknowledge our sin, we believe we are well intentioned. And we believe that we do far more good than bad.

When we compare ourselves to others, we come off pretty good in our own eyes. We’re always able to find those who are worse, or more sinful, than us. And this enables us to think more highly of ourselves.

When we err, we err on the side of minimizing our sin. We err on the side of overestimating our goodness. We err on the side of self-reliance.

The result of this is that, although we profess faith in the Lord, we have little love for him. We have little trust in him. And we have little need of him.

This is what Jesus is saying in the above passage. However, in the preceding words, he says the opposite. We find that, when we see our sin, when we acknowledge it for what it is, the opposite happens.

When we see our sin, when we understand it, and when we acknowledge it for what it is, we love much. When we trust in Christ and his promise, we love much. And when we receive his forgiveness and mercy, we love much.

This was expressed as a sinful woman came to Jesus. She wet his feet with her tears. She dried them with her hair. And she kissed his feet over and over again.

Jesus, then, assured her that her sins were forgiven. He told her that her faith had saved her. And he told her to go in peace.

This is also the Word, this is the assurance we receive when we come to Jesus. It’s the assurance we receive as we confess to him our sin. And it’s the assurance we receive as we look to him for deliverance.

We’re assured of the forgiveness of our sins. We’re assured that our faith has saved us. And we’re, then, enabled to go forth in peace.