LUKE 7 | Aubrey Noronha
“A man loaned money to two people – 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” (Luke 7:41-42) Answer: the man with the larger debt.
What makes a person want to do God-stuff (e.g. read the Bible, pray, worship, love others, share their faith, etc.)? I'm not talking about people who do God-stuff just because they feel obligated to or because they were told to. What makes a person desire to live for Jesus Christ, crave to be close to Him and love Him? One word: gratitude.
If someone spotted you $3 to buy a burger combo, you would probably say "thanks". But if you were held hostage and someone used their lifesavings of $150,000 to have you released, your gratitude would go from 10% to 110%. Your love for that person would go from little to big instantly. Maybe you've lifted up your hands and voice to God to worship Him, but could you imagine crying over and kissing his feet and then trying to clean the tears off them with your own hair?
A woman who had a pretty ugly and sinful history in her community did just that – and she even did it in public! When people who saw this asked Jesus Christ about it, He said: “I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (Luke 7:47).
If I were to write down all my sins over the last 28 years of my life, the list would be larger than 10 New York City phonebooks. But when I think about how God has still been kind enough to forgive me of them all, my love for Him goes from little to big and it makes me want to do God-stuff. God's forgiveness is larger than a $3 burger combo. It has released me from being hostage to sin, death and damnation. Consider writing down your own list of sins, scratch them out one at a time when you think about how he emptied His 'lifesavings' (His own life), and I am sure your love will go from little to big.
#ForgivenMuch