Jesus, in the gospel of Luke, tells a story about two men who go to a temple to pray. One a pharisee ("Godly", religious authority, very wealthy), and another a tax collector (unloved by society, and in the analogy, represented as a crook or "sinner"). They both have very different prayers to God. The pharisee prays to God and exalts himself. He says ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ While the tax collector comes to God lamenting. Jesus says that the Tax collector can't even lift his head. His prayer was a simple seven words; ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Jesus concludes his story by saying that out of the two men, the sinner went away justified before God, while the pharisee did not.
In my opinion, this is the greatest example of God's character that the Bible has to offer. A "good man" and a "sinner" both go before God, and the one who is humble is the one who is accepted. It has nothing to do with their status, good deeds, or failures. It does not matter if you are the greatest of men, or the most wicked of them. In the eyes of God, the most important thing is that your heart is willing to be reconciled. This characteristic of God is true throughout all time. I think what also is true throughout time is the example given of the two men. One is a delusional religious figure who abides by the laws of religion, and the other is a man who is hated in society, and has no "good christian points" to speak of. Both still are in existence in my social circles, today.
There are a lot of "Christians" out there, right now, who go to church twice a week, pay the church their tithes, and who look nice and pristine at church potlucks, but have no understanding of who God really is, or have a grip on what their relationship with God means. Also(and I think most importantly), like the pharisee, are quick to put down others, and openly exalt themselves. These people are hurting Christianity, big time. Non-Christians see this sect of people, and think this is what Jesus is all about. Which is far from the truth. Jesus was about caring for anyone who seeks love, like in the story about the tax collector. The tax collector also exists today, and I think he is the only example of a true christian in the world. Someone who's heart is right with God.
(Full disclaimer, Christ has called us to do good. Christ has called everyone to be overflowing with love and charity. He wants his followers to be upstanding citizens. He wants us to go to church, pay tithes and do all of those things, but the point of this post is to say that our humility with God comes first, and our works are second. ) The tax collector may not have been a "good" person, but he was intelligent. He had no self delusions about his righteousness, he knew that he needed God. He knew that he needed forgiveness. So he went to God in humility and understanding, asked for it, then received it. In my eyes, that is beautiful.
"Hey man, I'm sorry about that..." is the most beautiful start to a sentence among my intimate friends. Apologies and reconciliation are always the most healing moments in my life. It's when people get real, and show tenderness for the people they love. Both the forgiver, and the forgiven, must put aside selfishness for redemption to be achieved. And that is what God wants, for us to put aside our selfishness and be healed. The healing comes with the characteristics of the tax collector, humility and understanding. I'm not sure who I am out of the two characters, but I would rather be the guy who "gets it." I just want to be the man who understands.
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