Luke 7:47 - Forgiven Little or Much?

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven - for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Luke 7:47

This is all about perspectives. All have sinned and initially share the same destination. Humanity is, by definition, flawed to the core. We who have been forgiven should all see ourselves as this woman did - amazingly grateful for being changed from darkness to light. Feeling the significance of what has happened so strongly that we can do nothing else but blubber and anoint Jesus's feet.

 

But the key is our perception. Not saying this in an absolute sense, but in general, I think it's harder for those who are "pretty okay" to fully understand the impact of the dramatic rescue Christ enacted and how much he paid for it. Sometimes it's hard for "forgiven little" people to own the seriousness of their sin, maybe imagining their sins as teeny, tiny drops in the bucket of sin Jesus paid for on the cross. After all, they're not Hitler, and they didn't do [insert thing here] or aren't [insert other thing here].

People who can fall into a "forgiven much" category, who have messed up bad, may be experiencing the serious consequences of previous actions in their daily lives. They feel the essence of their unworthiness, while at the same time accepting the gift that is redemption. They've been there. They've done that. So, as in the case of this woman, their love is passionate, driven, full.

The thing is, we've all been there and done that. If you've hated someone in your heart, you've committed murder. If you've stared a little too long at someone and imagined a little too much taking place, you've already committed adultery or fornication. The most "okay" person in the entire world has been forgiven the same amount of sin as the worst person that ever lived. Called.... all of it, should they accept the truth.

My story is pretty boring overall. Nothing too dramatic. I'm a flawed person who accepted God's grace early, continues fluctuating between trusting him and trusting myself, sometimes walking in the light, other times not. When I get lazy, I easily start adopting a "forgiven little" attitude and very cheaply esteem the grace in which I stand. When I really think about it, when God reveals a new thing I need to surrender to him or an area where I have been doing it all wrong, it's then I truly feel the weight of my sin and fully appreciate just how "much" I have been "forgiven."

 

[Notice that all the so-called lesser sins like performance and flattery are slightly hidden from the camera's view?]