Psalm of the Day: Psalm 92
Wisdom of the Day: Job 14:12-22
Scripture Reading: Luke 7:36-50
We see that a sense of having our sins forgiven is the mainspring and life-blood of love to Christ. This was the lesson which our Lord wished Simon the Pharisee to learn, when He told him the story of the two debtors. "One owed his creditor five hundred pence, and the other fifty." Both had "nothing to pay," and both were forgiven freely. And then came the searching question, "Which of them will love him most?" Here was the true explanation, our Lord told Simon, of the deep love which the penitent woman before Him had displayed. Her many tears, her deep affection, her public reverence, and her action in anointing His feet were all traceable to one cause. She had been much forgiven, and so she loved much.
Her love for Jesus was the result of her forgiveness and not the reason. Would the Pharisee know why this woman showed so much love? It was because she felt much forgiven. Would he know why he himself had shown his guest so little love? It was because he felt under no obligation to Jesus. He had no consciousness of having obtained forgiveness, nor any sense of debt to Christ.
Forever let the mighty principle laid down by our Lord in this passage abide in our memories, and sink down into our hearts. It is one of the great corner-stones of the whole Gospel. The only way to make men holy is to teach and preach free and full forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The secret of being holy ourselves is to know and feel that Christ has pardoned our sins. To know that we are justified and at peace with God is the only root that will bear the fruit of holiness.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, help me to love you more because I am thankful for forgiveness.
Action Plan: There is no doubt that forgiveness bring affection. Reflect on how much you have been forgiven. How much goodness was in you before salvation? Were you better than other people? See Romans 3:10-20.
This devotional was taken from The Gospel of Luke by J.C. Ryle published in 1858
and adapted by Pastor Tim Lewis of New England Shores Baptist Church.
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