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So I Think I Have It All figured Out…
Being in the financial services industry, this verse really resonated with me. The general consensus about a “tax collector” in those days, or a “Madoff type” in today’s society is that they are “less than,” evil, sinners, well you get the drift. They are not as good as the “church folks.” I know I personally see how money equates with power and prestige, when in reality it’s only God’s love that really maters.
What this verse said to me is that God reveres a humble, and truthful, heart and spirit. In my own life I have struggled with the fact that I have always been responsible and have planned ahead while other family members have done the opposite and made choices that were detrimental, to the extent that I have had to step in and provide emotional and financial support time and time again. It makes me angry. But then, this verse reminded me that God loves a broken spirit just as much as a connected spirit. While I think I have it all together, like the Pharisee, God reminds me that all He desires is a humble heart who confesses their sins and asks for His forgiveness.
I praise God for His mercy. He loves me no matter what. I think your right about God’s love is what matters. He loves the tax collecters and the pharasees.
Love is all we need. Here is the catch. We must be willing to bear our true selves for the good of the cause. We must peal away the layers and get down to the truth. Confess our sins and be transparent.
Having done that we are able to love each other and feel love in return. We need to clear the pathway for God’s love to reach us.
When I feel apart from God, I have put something in the way.
Thanks Lynn…for your words this morning and the challenge. I find it difficult too to dance the family dysfunction between being gracious and enabling what I consider “poor behavior” or “poor decisions”…and even more difficult to manage my emotions when things don’t change. What makes it easier, as you point out, is leaning on God and being humble (vs. prideful, which is where I can easily go). Thanks again for the reminder of God’s love and mercy and what my approach to Him and others should be.
Lynn, words that go right to the heart. A great reminder for us to strive for humility and be thankful for Grace.
You’re right to remember the Pharisee. He’s on God’s radar, too.
Thanks Lynn we all live on the same boat with the same motor of grace.