Forgiven Much

Forgiven Much

Read: Luke 7:36-47

“He who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 7:47

“The more we meditate on the Cross, the deeper our companionship and knowledge gets of Christ the Lord.”

—Pishoy Kamel

IN WORD The greatest commandment of all, said Jesus, is to love God with everything we are and everything we have. We are to have passion for the Almighty that exceeds all our other passions. It’s what we were created for. But here, in the context of fallen humanity, Jesus lays down a principle about our love. It is contingent on the mercy we have experienced. The fallen human heart does not love the holy heart of the divine unless mercy paves the way. And where love is faint, mercy has been missed.

Simon the Pharisee demonstrated little love for Jesus. Curiosity, perhaps. Some level of hospitality, of course. But little love, if any. What does this say about his understanding of God’s mercy? According to Jesus, it means he has missed it. He doesn’t have a clue. He probably sees himself right with God already. And he sees Jesus as a prophet, a teacher, a troublemaker who needs a good lecture, or something other than the One who takes away the sins of the world. He does not know Jesus’ forgiveness, and he doesn’t know his own need. And his love for Jesus—and for God— is miniscule.

IN DEED What about your love for God? Does it overflow with gratitude? Does it weep at His feet? If not, go back to the Cross. Get a good understanding of what happened there. Contemplate the huge chasm that once lay between the deadness of your spirit and the life of your God. Remember the cold rebellion—that chilling apathy toward our Creator—that we’ve all started out with. Understand that we were separated from any deserving claim on His goodness. Everything that brought us back to Him was all grace—nothing else. Pure, unbridled mercy. A love that knows no restraint and accepts no resistance.

Few people really understand God’s mercy. Become one of them. Know the magnitude of His grace. And let your love for Him reflect it.