Clothesline 271 "Are you righteous?"

What exactly does it mean to be “righteous,” to be in a right relationship with God? In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees would answer that questions with: reading Scripture for several hours a day, fasting often, keeping the commandments to the letter and keeping a distance from those who didn’t follow those rules. Whew! That makes me tired just thinking about it!

Yet, Jesus wants us to be in a right relationship with Him. But the Pharisee’s idea of righteousness isn’t Jesus’ idea. So, he tells us the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It’s a story you’ve heard many times before.

Two men come to the Temple to pray. One is a Pharisee, and the other, a tax collector. The Pharisee prays within himself, praising the fact that he isn’t like the man he sees in the distance…a tax collector! He raises his eyes to heaven and thinks to himself, “I follow all the rules and I’m nothing like the tax collector. I’m great!” But the tax collector prays, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Wow! What a difference between the two! The Pharisee has forgotten his humanness; all human beings are sinners, and have “fallen short of the glory of God,” as Paul often wrote. Try as we might, we will never, in this life, reach full righteousness with our God. And the Pharisee doesn’t get that. It reminds me of people who are always doing good works, helping others, but they forget our most important responsibility: standing in awe before our Lord and Master in complete humility.

Another story with the same message: Mary and Martha. Jesus comes to their home for a meal. While Martha is scurrying around in the kitchen, putting together a meal “fit for a King,” Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his every word. It isn’t that Martha’s efforts weren’t important, but what is most important is Mary’s humility and understand that she is in the presence of the Messiah.

Bottom line: we are all sinners. It’s called the human condition. But we have been saved by the blood of Jesus on the cross, saved by grace, and saved to live a life of humility and worship. I don’t know about you, but I thank God every day that he has found me worth dying for. And the same goes for you as well! You can count on it!