Luke 18:11-13

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee,
that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of
all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift
up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying,
God be merciful to me a sinner."

Ok. This is three verses so that the context may be understood. The verse that I am focused on though is thirteen. It starts, "And the publican." So let's get a quick background first. The Pharisee was a religious leader of the Jews in that day. They read the scripture and interpreted it for the people. They were thought to be close to God. The term Pharisee actually means separatist or separated ones. The were keepers of the law in scripture. Publicans of that day were tax collectors. they were despised by their own people. Usually a Jewish person that worked for Rome. They were known for being dishonest and demanding more than what was required at tax time. What is amazing about this text is this. The Pharisee thought he knew who he was, but the publican knew what he was. The pharisee said I am better than all these other people, the publican said I am a sinner. The Pharisee offered his outward good works, the publican offered nothing but himself. Amazing! This is the classic example for us to look at and say, which one am I? God looks on the heart. The inward appearance, not the outward. That alone should scare us. Jeremiah 17:9 says " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" God knows it. Are we guilty of comparing ourselves to others? Do we put sin on a step system that says one is worse than the other? In God's eyes, sin is sin. Murder, lying, adultery, etc it's all the same to Him. It is a level playing field. It separates us from Him. And for that matter the bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. So there you have it, we are all sinners. We are all equally bad. I'm not as bad as a murderer or child molester you might say. In God's economy, we all have the same sin nature and capacity for it, so you are. Whether we act upon it, is the difference. Jesus taught if you commit the sin in your heart your already guilty! So here is this publican beating his chest asking for God 's mercy. I submit to you, based on the next scripture, verse 14, this man had the right heart attitude. Jesus said that this man went to his house justified. He came before God and recognised who he was, didn't try to hide it, and asked for mercy. The best part about it is, he received it. That's the nature of God. He loves each and everyone of us equally. There is no extra love for one and not another based upon works. God loves us all unconditionally. I do submit to you that there is a special love for someone who is saved. Not more, just special because there is communion between the Creator and the creation. It's on us to accept or reject that love and mercy. All He asks is that we surrender and realize who we are in ourselves, but also who we can be in Him. This week, I challenge you to look at people through God's perspective. Have compassion for the one who murders in cold blood. Pray that they would get saved and be washed in the blood of Christ and be set free. If God can change Saul into Paul, then there's hope for everyone else. There was hope for me and I am far from perfect. I mean galactically imperfect. Thankfully though, I have the imputed righteousness of Christ and when God looks at me, He See's that, and my imperfections are gone. He See's the finished work.

Bob.