Luke 7:41-44
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
As we taught our students this last week in our Super Summer Orange School, we began with a look at the holiness of God. Specifically, we wanted to see just how great is the difference between humanity in our sinfulness and God in his holiness. The gap between us is infinite. Even our slightest imperfection is enough to earn for us an eternal punishment for an infinitely holy Creator.
Some might ask why we spend any time dwelling on something that would be so depressing. Why would we want to show young people that they are not naturally good or that they cannot be right with God on their own—in their own strength? Why accentuate the negative?
The answer is found in the teaching of Jesus here in Luke 7. The only way that we will ever truly magnify grace is when we recognize how great grace really is. Jesus explained to a self-righteous man that the one who loves God most is the one who has been forgiven most. For us, the one who will love God most is the one who recognizes that he or she has been forgiven an infinite amount by a gracious God.
Lord, I acknowledge here and now that I have sinned against you in myriad ways. I have never lived a perfect day. You are holy. Your holiness has no end. I am a sinner who deserves a never ending wrath. Thank you for the grace that covers my transgression. Thank you for having mercy on me, a sinner. Help me, I pray, to see just how great my sin is so that I can love you rightly, for the one who is forgiven much loves much.
Pastor Travis Peterson 