“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’” Luke 8:13
Have you been around someone unwilling to acknowledge their mistakes? These people are not pleasant to be around, are they? In their pride, they are unwilling to admit areas where they have been wrong or messed up. They will rarely, if ever, apologize. Additionally, because they refuse to recognize their mistakes, they will continue in their sinful, negative behavior. This refusal to acknowledge mistakes certainly keeps us from growing in our relationships with God. There is a better way of living than being blind to our own sin, and that is recognizing and confessing our sin to God. Only through recognizing and confessing our sin can we find peace with God.
Jesus emphasized the importance of recognizing our sins and confessing them to God as He taught during His earthly ministry. In Luke 18, He told a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector. In this story, both the Pharisee and the tax collector prayed to God at the temple. To understand this story well, it is important to know that Pharisees were religious leaders during Jesus’ day, and the Jewish people despised tax collectors because they collected taxes from fellow Jewish people, often asking for more than was required and pocketing the extra money for themselves. Pay attention to the difference between their two prayers. The Pharisee prayed, “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income” (verses 11-12). The tax collector, on the other hand, “stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow” (verse 13). He prayed, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner” (verse 13). The Pharisee was totally blind to His sin. The tax collector, on the other hand, saw his own sin clearly and was devastated over it. He admitted that he was a sinner before God, and was made right before God as a result.
We are all sinners who are separated from a holy, perfect God. We are all hopeless without God's forgiveness. We can either be blind to it or recognize it and confess it before God. Let's be people who let go of pride and recognize our sin before God. There is forgiveness and restoration on the other side of confession.
Take a few moments to follow the example of the tax collector in this passage of Scripture. Acknowledge your sin and confess it to God. Confess the areas where you have broken His heart and disobeyed Him. Remember, confession leads to peace and restoration with God.
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
“God, as I acknowledge my sin that has broken Your heart, I confess…”
Luke 8:1-14
1Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, 2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.
4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.
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