Luke 7:47- “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who has forgiven little loves little.”
One who loves little, believes:
1)they have too little that needs forgiveness ,if at all,
or,
2) they cannot believe that they can be forgiven, because they have simply done too much evil to be forgiven for.
The first is self righteousness, which Christ did not come for because He said "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).
The second belief is because of a lack of true knowledge of God's grace which is undeserved, unmerited, divine favor! Scripture tells us that "by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourselves." We are saved by belief in Jesus, and not by anything good or bad that we judged ourselves of doing. It is written not to judge even yourself (1 Corinthians 4:3,4).It is the gift of God(notice please: it is a gift).(Ephesians 2:8).
Corrie Ten Booms' sister Betsie, while she lay dying in a nazi concentration camp, told Corrie:"There's no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still." I did not love myself most of my life. I descended from guilt to shame- then over again. Until, after a 40 year wilderness of sin and pain, Christ removed each layer. He said, (though I thought differently at the time), He never left me, and that my sins were His business.
Remember He went to hell in our place. So we can say that no matter what hell we have been through, He does understand! His love is deeper than all doubt, all fear, all hate, all evil, ALL hell.
"Where evil abounds, grace abounded all the more." (Romans 5:20).
- Grace VanHouten
