Jesus was having supper at a house and a woman (a prostitute) came in and was lavishly anointing the feet of Jesus while she wept. The host, a Pharisee, questioned what this woman was doing and Jesus answered him with a story of forgiveness. A man forgave two debtors. One with a small debt and one with a very large debt. Who would love the forgiver more? The Pharisee answered with the larger debt. Jesus quickly answered him with an observation. As the host of the party the Pharisee should have offered Jesus water and a towel to cleanse his feet. But he did not. The woman offered Jesus much more love, care and hospitality than the host of the dinner did. And then Jesus asks "Do you see this woman?" Do you see what she has done? Do you see the love and care she has given while you gave none? The truth is that the Pharisee didn't want to see this woman and the ruckus she created. In the eyes of the Pharisee she was just a lowly prostitute that would not amount to much. However, Jesus she's much more. He she a loved, forgiven child of God. And then Jesus points out our human nature. "The one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." and the other end is true too. Those that are forgiven a great deal, love a great deal.
The problem comes when we see ourselves too highly, thinking that we are not as sinful as others. If we are not forgiven of much then our love may not run as deep. Human nature dictates, the bigger the sin the bigger the sense of forgiveness and love. The truth is that we are all sinners in need of God's grace and mercy. None of us are "better" sinners than the next person. The trap we may fall into is that if we think there is not much to forgive then we are less likely to be appreciative of what God has done for us.
And with that we are reminded by Martin Luther to:
“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”
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