Father, I would ask that You would help me to grasp the value of every single day. They are so fleeting – January is almost over! May I fill each day with what is valuable for eternity and not just the here and now. Amen.
Luke 5:30-32 (<<click to read the passage)
I’ve talked about being judgmental before in my writing. And I have come to the conclusion that we too often claim foul when we strive to hold our fellow believers in check to what Jesus calls us to do. I strongly believe that Scripture is pretty clear that we are to be held accountable by one another.
In reading through today’s passage, I caught a line that I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten before. When Jesus says, “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous…” the word think is what catches my attention. As is made very clear in much of the New Testament, the only righteousness the Pharisees and teachers of the Law could truly lay claim to was self-righteousness. Jesus still does not call those of us who think we are righteous.
A lot of our struggle is that many have the mindset that they really don’t need anybody else. They can handle it. At least in American culture, it is what we are told from a very early age. How many times have I seen a toddler determined to push the cart in a store! They can barely reach the handle but over and over they proclaim, “I do it!”
It is a part of our psyche and it is so much a part of us that it overflows into every other part of our lives – including the spiritual.
“God, I got this!” Or in more familiar lingo, “I do it!”
We cannot be so determined to do it ourselves that we push the only Person who can help aside. Our pride is a great factor in us realizing that we can’t do it ourselves.
Enough with self-rationalization. “It wasn’t that big of a sin!” “It was just a little white lie!” “Yes, I saw that attractive person and thought about how exciting it would be to do this or that, but I didn’t do any of it!” “In my head, I’ve smacked them silly multiple times over, but I would never actually smack them!”
We have to acknowledge the guilt of our sins. Then we have to turn our backs on them – striving to never yield to them again! (That’s called repentance!)
And, it is utterly impossible for us to forgive our own sins – Jesus, and only Jesus, accomplished that formidable task for us!
Self-righteousness gets us nowhere but to a dead end…and an eternal dead end at that!
Without Jesus, we are sick and dying in our sins. Even if we think we are healthy, it is a lie we tell ourselves. Jesus’ answer to us,
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” vs.31-32 NLT
Lord, help us. Amen.
Jan 27th, 2020, Mon, 4:45 pm
