One of the things God is teaching me is that any righteousness I might have comes from him alone. If I think that I am better than anyone else, then I am greatly mistaken.
Frank Viola has a post titled A Farewell to Self Righteousness, that is a reminder that no one's sins are really worse than mine and that we are all in desperate need of God's grace.
Here are a couple of quotes from the post, but you really need to read the whole thing for yourself:
Now let’s put a modern Christian in that room with Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Pharisees. A self-righteous Christian, mind you.
“Um [cough] … Lord Jesus, did she ask You to forgive her? I didn’t hear her say she was sorry for living as a prostitute. How do we know if she has really repented, Lord? Do You mind if I interrogate her for a bit, please?”
Such is the spirit of a Pharisee. And we have not so learned Jesus Christ.
If Mary of Magdala could love her Lord and enjoy His presence boldly, flagrantly, extravagantly, shamelessly, and without inhibition, then so can you. And so can I.
Therefore, the next time you feel condemnation over your past, please remember this one thing: The first person to lay eyes upon the resurrected Lord was a former prostitute.
It's easy for us to look at what other people do and judge them, especially if we feel they have wronged us. Many times we are kept from extravagantly loving Jesus because we look at others rather than allowing the Spirit to show us where we have sinned, and just how much grace the Father has given us.
God help us to extend to others the same grace that God has shown us.
2 comments:
I would totally agree with that. It is so easy for us to seat ourselves in the seat of Simon and forget we are constantly in need of God's love and forgiveness. Thank you for the reminder.
You're welcome. It's something I need to be reminded of on a regular basis.
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