A Tale of Two Men

Luke 18:9-14

“Get out of my way. Let me through. Don’t you know who I am?” The Pharisee’s fancy robes swished as he pushed his way through the crowd of people entering the temple for prayer.

A tax collector tried to get through the crowd for prayer too. But no one stepped aside to let him in. “He is a dishonest man,” someone said.

Inside the temple, many people were praying. Instead of kneeling and praying quietly as the others were doing, the Pharisee stood up and began to pray loudly: “Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like other people, especially that tax collector. I don’t cheat or lie, and I give money to the temple. God, you are lucky to have a friend like me.”

The people praying nearby couldn’t believe what the Pharisee was saying. We all sin, one woman thought. And God wants us to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness.

Across the room, the tax collector finally found a spot to pray. Imagine the surprise of the people around him when they heard his prayers: “God, please forgive my sins. Show mercy to me.” He felt sorry for the unkind and dishonest things he had done and asked God to forgive him.

Becoming a Man of God

A man of God asks forgiveness for his sins.

The Pharisee thought he was better than other people. The tax collector knew that he needed to ask God’s forgiveness. Even though he did wrong things, he was on the right track because he admitted his sins and asked forgiveness.

Have you asked God to forgive you for wrong things you have done?

A Verse to Remember

If we say, “We have never sinned,” we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us.

1 John 1:10