When it comes to living life as a follower of Christ, we make a mistake if we think it is all about being good and moral people on the surface. The goal of following Jesus is not appropriate and civil behavior. Instead we should long to see God change who we are from the inside out. In Crazy Love, Francis Chan writes, “Lukewarm people gauge their morality or ‘goodness’ by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.” (Crazy Love, p. 72)
When we compare ourselves and the level of our moral goodness to the secular world, we make a drastic mistake. The Pharisee in Luke 18:11-12 thanked God that he was not like the sinning tax collector while pointing to his perfectly religious behavior. In Luke 18:13 the sinful tax collector beat his chest begging God for His mercy in light of his sinfulness as a person. Jesus makes it clear that it is the second man who has the right perspective (Luke 18:14).
We must constantly remember that we are rebels at heart. Rebels against the God of the universe deserve punishment. That means that we are all deserving of punishment from God, but instead, we have encountered God’s incredible mercy and amazing grace. In light of that, we should never attempt to compare whom we are to a world that does not know Jesus in a real way.
Are you content with being a little bit more moral than the guy and gal down the street? Or are you so grateful that God has had mercy on you, a sinner?
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