Justified

As a psychotherapist and a pastor's wife I am routinely made aware of the enormous amount of rejection suffered by people who are struggling with sin, by those in the church. My question is who isn't struggling with sin?

The more I'm in practice and the more I'm in church leadership the more I have come to realize that although the bible says that "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" is the only unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31--by the way, it was Jesus who was saying this); the church has made up its own list. The top two that seem to be "unforgivable" with Christians are divorce and homosexuality.

This morning in my devotions I read in Luke 18: 9-14. Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer:'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income'.

"But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.'

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home JUSTIFIED before God. For the PROUD will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.

May we be careful to understand that God knows the truth in people's lives and hearts and may He always be able to see us as the humble and not the proud when we encounter people who struggle with the 'big' sins on our lists, but not necessarily His.