In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus addresses the Pharisees about what type of worship is pleasing to God.
We have two different people from two different walks of life, and they are both seen in a different way by Jesus.
The first is a well-respected leader of religious law who is worshipping, looking up to heaven and thanking the Lord that he was not like some of the “other” people who worship in that place. He is full of himself and likes the idea of being a person of influence.
The other is a tax collector who, by all accounts, was considered a pest. Someone who could not be trusted and was clearly (by reputation) dishonest in his dealings with people. However, what we see from this man is different from what we see from the first. We see him come to this place of worship and kneel with his head bowed in shame. Onlookers would have paid no attention to him, but it didn’t seem like he wanted it anyway, as he knew he was not worthy of the honour of being called a worshipper of a perfect, holy God.
In telling this story, Jesus was exposing the hypocrisy of those who saw themselves as better than others. He was letting the crowd of people know that God is not impressed with our piety or accolades but instead is impressed with our heart posture.
God is impressed when humans have an accurate understanding of the human condition. When we understand that none of us are deserving of anything from God, this is when we can experience the love of God. This is what God is impressed with. Humility.
As the tax collector was not perfect, we can not be perfect apart from a relationship with God. Coming into this relationship requires us to get rid of our pride and submit to how Jesus would have us live.
A life of surrender is truly a form of worship that is pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1)
- Caleb
