I think the best way to tie together the last two weeks of
blog-thoughts is to tell a little bible story.
A special thanks to my co-worker, and friend, Jimmy Farley for drawing
my attention to this story a few weeks back.
I’ll Peg-Paraphrase the story, but you can actually read it for yourself
in Luke 18:9-14 (please do). In my Bible, it’s titled The Pharisee and the Publican. Jesus
is telling the story. Here’s my version.
The good church-goer, who obeyed all the righteous-rules,
went to church one day. Keep in mind,
this guy (or girl, but I’ll use the term guy – it makes me feel better) was a “doer”
and he knew that by his doing, he found favor with God. He was “in.”
Because he lacked no confidence that he was “in,” he stood inside the temple, probably as
close to the altar as he could possibly get, and prayed out loud (notice it
says, “…to himself” – his
words were addressed to God, but, in reality, he was praying to himself). As he prayed, he presented his laundry list
of law-abiding goodness:
went to church one day. Keep in mind,
this guy (or girl, but I’ll use the term guy – it makes me feel better) was a “doer”
and he knew that by his doing, he found favor with God. He was “in.”
Because he lacked no confidence that he was “in,” he stood inside the temple, probably as
close to the altar as he could possibly get, and prayed out loud (notice it
says, “…to himself” – his
words were addressed to God, but, in reality, he was praying to himself). As he prayed, he presented his laundry list
of law-abiding goodness:
I am not
like other people
like other people
I am not a
swindler; I don’t cheat
swindler; I don’t cheat
I am not
unrighteous
unrighteous
I am not an
adulterer
adulterer
I am not
like this other guy
like this other guy
I fast twice
a week
a week
I pay a
tithe to my church
tithe to my church
The other
guy, to whom the good church-goer referred, was an IRS agent (Have you done
your taxes yet? If so, you probably don’t like this guy any more than the goody-two-shoes-church-boy
does. I mean seriously, can an IRS agent
really make it to heaven?). Mr. IRS is a
bad man. He squeezes people for all he
can get. As the old saying goes, “This
guy can get blood out of a turnip (where did that come from, anyway?).” However, Mr. IRS is very aware of his “badness.” He doesn’t even try to get close to the altar
– he stands, but some distance away. He
wouldn’t even dare to lift up his eyes, and his prayer was humble, he had no
laundry list of the good he’d done. His
heart was so heavy with sin, he could only pound on his chest, and seek the
mercy of the only One who could lighten his load. His prayer was simple, “God,
be merciful to me, THE* sinner.” Note: not a sinner, generic; THE sinner,
specific.
guy, to whom the good church-goer referred, was an IRS agent (Have you done
your taxes yet? If so, you probably don’t like this guy any more than the goody-two-shoes-church-boy
does. I mean seriously, can an IRS agent
really make it to heaven?). Mr. IRS is a
bad man. He squeezes people for all he
can get. As the old saying goes, “This
guy can get blood out of a turnip (where did that come from, anyway?).” However, Mr. IRS is very aware of his “badness.” He doesn’t even try to get close to the altar
– he stands, but some distance away. He
wouldn’t even dare to lift up his eyes, and his prayer was humble, he had no
laundry list of the good he’d done. His
heart was so heavy with sin, he could only pound on his chest, and seek the
mercy of the only One who could lighten his load. His prayer was simple, “God,
be merciful to me, THE* sinner.” Note: not a sinner, generic; THE sinner,
specific.
God reached
down that day, and lightened the load of Mr. IRS. He went home “just as if he never sinned.” Not so, Mr. Church. Whoa! I hear what you’re yelling, “That’s not fair!”
down that day, and lightened the load of Mr. IRS. He went home “just as if he never sinned.” Not so, Mr. Church. Whoa! I hear what you’re yelling, “That’s not fair!”
…but,
wait! Mr. Church was a perfect
definition of a merit-monger. He had the
do-good list. He deserved….oh, yes, he
did! He made a great case for himself
according to the law. However, Mr. IRS
understood Romans 1, 2, 3. He was THE
SINNER. He was the sin-black-sin-ugly
creature swimming in the dark waters of the first three chapters of
Romans. He NEEDED those truths we talked
about two weeks ago to so penetrate his heart that nothing remained of
self-righteousness, or expectation, or any thought of “I deserve
_________________.” Mr. IRS understood grace (in a big way). We all need to
remember there’s another list besides my “do good” list, or the “bad done
against me list.” There’s a list called “Bad
I’ve Been Involved In.” That particular
list is longer and larger than any I might try to rattle off on my behalf. After spending time in Romans 1, 2 & 3, I
have no case for merit-mongering. Like
the tax collector in Luke 18, all I can do is beat my chest, and cry out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” All I can hope for is grace. By.In. Because of these two prepositions, that is exactly what I get…grace!
Moral of the story: I must remain in the depths of my sinful despair long enough to truly make the buy in to the BY.IN. of Jesus. I will always surface “just as if I’ve never sinned,” filled with gratitude as opposed to greed.
wait! Mr. Church was a perfect
definition of a merit-monger. He had the
do-good list. He deserved….oh, yes, he
did! He made a great case for himself
according to the law. However, Mr. IRS
understood Romans 1, 2, 3. He was THE
SINNER. He was the sin-black-sin-ugly
creature swimming in the dark waters of the first three chapters of
Romans. He NEEDED those truths we talked
about two weeks ago to so penetrate his heart that nothing remained of
self-righteousness, or expectation, or any thought of “I deserve
_________________.” Mr. IRS understood grace (in a big way). We all need to
remember there’s another list besides my “do good” list, or the “bad done
against me list.” There’s a list called “Bad
I’ve Been Involved In.” That particular
list is longer and larger than any I might try to rattle off on my behalf. After spending time in Romans 1, 2 & 3, I
have no case for merit-mongering. Like
the tax collector in Luke 18, all I can do is beat my chest, and cry out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” All I can hope for is grace. By.In. Because of these two prepositions, that is exactly what I get…grace!
Moral of the story: I must remain in the depths of my sinful despair long enough to truly make the buy in to the BY.IN. of Jesus. I will always surface “just as if I’ve never sinned,” filled with gratitude as opposed to greed.
(*Emphasis mine.)