Well, what about us? We are a joyful bunch, hopeful and at peace with God, no longer carrying the guilt of sin, forgiven by grace and blessed by God!
Forgiven Little or Forgiven Much ?
What took place in this account of Luke, recorded in Luke 7:36-50 (please read) leaves you mesmerized about the wisdom and the manifold attribute of the Lord Jesus. The account drives home a point that we all need to learn from and stirs us to relate better, respond appropriately to the One who loves us so much.
To the woman in this story, it was simply life changing. Having come to Him a sinner, broken and laden with guilt, she expressed, not by words, but, by deeds, the anguish of a life alienated from God and the heartfelt repentance which the Lord saw. She must have waited for the opportune time to come to this moment. When the opportunity came, it was to be in the house of Simon, a religious man, a Pharisee, who looked down on her. But, she had to pursue Jesus no matter what and the location nor the circumstances will not stop her. After the encounter, the woman, unnamed, went away joyful, for in her eyes, she was forgiven and forgiven much.
Left behind by her was a man, Simon, who must have been wondering and mulling over what just happened. Earlier, the Lord had said to him:
“Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which [are] many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loves little.”
This statement exposes how Simon perceived that God has done very little for him. Perhaps, He has done nothing at all. Like Simon, if we think God did nothing for us, then there is nothing to be thankful for. If He did us a little favor, He probably deserves a little “thank you”; nothing more.
Someone who has not walked with God will not give Him credit for anything. But, among those who understand, they attest and give Him credit for many things that they acknowledge He did for them.
The visit of Jesus to Simon’s house is really meant to draw him (and those of us who will learn from this account) unto repentance and faith which the Lord is silently offering here.
Simon has no idea of what He will do for him on the cross (a future event at this point). As a Jew who prays and offers animal sacrifices as atonement for sin, he thinks he is spiritually all right or righteous before God. So, in his mind, he has no need for a Savior. He fits perfectly the illustration that Jesus wanted to make – differentiate between one who loves much and one who loves little.
The woman realizing the enormity of her transgression was so happy with the forgiveness she received. So, she loved her Savior much in response and in appreciation. Simon, who thinks he is righteous sees his spiritual state as good and not needing a Savior. So, he does not respond similarly as the woman. He loves Jesus little.
To those who understand the enormity of our sin, we know it took the death of Christ to pay for them. There is no other way for our sin to be cleansed except for His offering of His life as payment for our sin. That is how much He loves us. It is a debt we cannot repay. For that we are forever thankful and indebted. That is why we are among those who believe we are forgiven much!
In response to His goodness, we tell others (you and the visitors of this site) of what He did for us (link here) and how He gave us a new life and infused us with understanding so wonderful not to share, hence we share, we blog.
We welcome your feedback! Our hope is that our blogs will challenge the readers to think of the deep truths in scriptures that will lead to life, joy and peace in our relationships, and wisdom in facing our struggles. We also welcome questions about the bible, the Christian faith and life in general. We will try to answer biblically and practically as the Lord leads.
God's Been Good to Us
Yours truly has been a believer for over 24 years. My coming to faith coincides with my coming to the USA. I left the Philippines when my painting and waterproofing business went bankrupt as a result of the Asian crisis that started in 1997.
With our home in danger of foreclosure and unable to support the schooling of my children, I was forced to leave the Philippines to search for opportunity in the USA.
So, I came to the US at a very vulnerable time of my life. As the circumstances later unfolded, little did I know, that God was working out my failure and situation to call me to a loving relationship with Him.
I now know that God took away the riches in my life that were blinding me. The riches that He blessed me with I used for my own selfish pleasure and drove me into sinfulness. In short, God called and I responded and am now here wanting to share with you what He did for me. I was blind, now I see.
Thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness and grace! You are the God of second chances. Blessed be your name!
What We Believe
In the interest of full disclosure, we want to state where we are coming from. These are what we believe:
- We believe that the bible is the inerrant, inspired and complete word of God;
- God is Elohim manifesting Himself in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
- Jesus, the Son came down from heaven, lived a perfect life under the law that He may redeem us from our sin and the curse of sin, through his suffering, death and resurrection.
- We believe that faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to be forgiven of our sin and that as believers we must live by faith and with self-control, living lives worthy of our repentance.
- As believers, we believe that we are in-dwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the abundant life that God intended for us to live. So, we walk in gratitude for what the Lord has done for us knowing we are Forgiven Much. As you read our blogs, we hope you will be built-up, encouraged and strengthened in your own faith as we point to you the God who is called “LOVE”.