Dwelling in humility
The devotions for the coming week are taken from LCA International Mission’s 2024 ‘40 Days – a Lent Devotional and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners around the world. This year the devotions have been written by members of our partner churches focusing on the theme ‘40 days with the Storyteller’. LCA International Mission invites you to pray for God’s global mission and churches beyond our borders. You can download an electronic copy of the ‘40 Days’ guide at the LCA International Mission website or request a printed copy by emailing lcaim@lca.org.au or phoning 08 8267 7317.
by Eleven Sihotang
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I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, but the one who humbles themselves will be exalted (Luke 18:14).
Read Luke 18:9–14
A Pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stands and prays, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income’. But the tax collector stands far off, not brave enough to look up to heaven. He beats his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner’.
There are similarities between the Pharisee and the tax collector. The two men go to the temple with the same purpose – to pray. However, the content of their prayer differentiates them. The Pharisee is proud that he is righteous before God for all his good deeds. He compares himself with others, including the tax collector. His words and how he behaves really hurt the heart of the tax collector. The tax collector bows his head and confesses himself as a sinner. He asks mercy from God. He feels unworthy before God. The short sentence from the tax collector comes from the bottom of his heart, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’.
We can see and meet people who pray like the Pharisee. There are people who name themselves as religious, counting the good deeds they do, for example, attending worship every Sunday, donating money to support the church, and feeding the poor. By those things, they consider they are more righteous than others. Some people announce their good deeds via social media, expecting praise and recognition, thinking their reputation becomes better. They assume the good deeds will determine their salvation.
How can I be right with God? Is it through good deeds? Do I work out salvation for myself?
From the parable, we learn that there is hope for sinners. The very short prayer of the tax collector got an extraordinary response, ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted’. Be humble before God. Believers are justified by faith and by Christ alone. During the weeks of Lent, we are invited to come to the presence of God. So come to the presence of God and say ‘Lord have mercy on me, a sinner’.
Lord have mercy on us sinners. We pray for the women who are training through the Sekolah Tinggi Diakones HKBP, as they become part of the creation of a Christian community that is faithful, professional, moral and adheres to the principle of serving wholeheartedly. Help us to do likewise, serving you with humility and repentance. Amen.
Eleven Sihotang is the Director of the Sekolah Tinggi Diakones Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, Indonesia.
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