We All Need Mercy

Tuesday, May 5th, 2026

4:30 am

Good morning! Today I am in Luke 18:9-14. Jesus tells a story about 2 men that went to pray. One of the men was a Pharisee and the other was a despised tax collector. When they went in to pray, they each stood by themselves. The Pharisee prayed, thanking God that he wasn't a sinner like the tax collector. Saying that he never cheats, sins, or commits adultery, and he fasts twice a week and tithes a tenth of his income. The tax collector did not even dare to look up to heaven when he prayed. When he prayed, he beat his chest in sorrow and asked God to be merciful on him for he was a sinner. Jesus told the people around Him, that the sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home righteous before God. He tells them that anyone who exalts themselves before God will be humbled, and anyone who humbles themselves before God would be exalted. Jesus was telling this story to some of the people that had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else.

The Pharisee in this story boasted about himself and how he had not done anything wrong, and how he gave and fasted. He did not see himself as a sinner. But while he was praying, he was putting the tax collector down. Looking down on him, thinking that he was better than him. But he was being proud and arrogant. The tax collector recognized that he was a sinner and was begging God for mercy.

We must be careful not to be like the Pharisee in the story. Everyone of us are sinners, and we all need God's loving mercy. But when we, like the Pharisee, start thinking that we are perfect and do nothing wrong, even checking all the religious boxes, we stop realizing how we need God's help. It is because of Jesus that we are made righteous in God's eyes. We can not do it on our own. There is no good deed that would ever measure up to the sacrifice Jesus did for everyone of us. We must recognize, like the tax collector, that we need God's mercy every step of the way. Asking Him to forgive us when we fall short. None of us are perfect. There was only one man that was, and that was Jesus. And He gave His life so we can have peace in Him that we don't have to be a slave to sin anymore. That we can live free with Him. But everyday, we must remember it is because of Jesus that we made right with God. We can't do it on our own.