Luke 7:40-43

Luke 7:40-43

This little parable got me wondering... Do I need to screw up big to get closer to God? That seems to be the story of my life, but it doesn't make sense to me...

Would I be better off engaging in a couple years of crazy decadence then completely repenting? That sounds counter-intuitive, yet the message I got at church today tells me that the greater my debt to be forgiven, the more I would love God!!

I haven't screwed up big in a while now, could that be why my spiritual life is leaning toward stagnancy right now?
 
Since all sin is equal in God’s eyes it is clearly not a matter of you needing to commit greater sins in order to be forgiven more and thereby appreciate it more. The issue is a matter of perspective on our part; we must change our perspective to recognize how great His forgiveness already is to us.

The greater the challenges we overcome the more we will appreciate our relationship with Him, so the answer is not to sin more, but to sin less…to conquer our greatest personal deficiencies through much effort and prayer on our part. The harder you work for something the more you’ll appreciate it.

Obviously we cannot earn salvation itself, but the greater the effort we put into our relationship with God the more meaning it will have for us. I think this is the point Jesus was trying to get across in the passage in question, since the disciples were looking down on the woman’s efforts to show her love and devotion to Jesus. She engaged in a very personal effort to express her devotion, with no regard to her worldly station…she humbled herself and sought a more intimate relationship at all costs.

We should emulate her efforts post sin, not emulate her capacity to sin previous to encountering Christ.
 
What you say makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate your reply, but in regards to your opening comment... I don't think God sees all sin equally. Look at Matthew 10:15, hell will be better for one sinner than another, says the Lord, due to the type of sin.
 
Indeed, but I think that relates to the severity of the natural consequences of different sins rather than how God views them. Not all sins carry the same negative results, but to God sin is sin...that is, an action contrary to His nature is a move away from Him. There are only two "directions", towards Him or away from Him. The distance back is always the same, repentance is the one thing that can exceed the speed of light :D

Gimme warp ten Scotty!
 
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