Daily Word Of God
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being upright and despised everyone else, ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.”
The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- As human beings we tend to boast of our goodness to the Lord and often ignore our own faults and sins. This is a form of arrogance.
- Instead of being “arrogant” like the Pharisees, we should do things out of our love for Jesus.
- Ultimately, it is those believers who ask for forgiveness, like the tax collector, who will be saved. For these are the ones who are humble enough to acknowledge their sins and seek redemption from the Lord. And these are the ones whom the Lord loves and is most proud of.