The Pharisee In Me

Reference: Acts 15:5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses."

Observation: Just because we are a believer and follower of Jesus doesn't mean that we can not fall into the trap of being a Pharisee.

It is a bit jarring to read that some of the early believers still belonged to the this sect, and even more jarring to see them continue to propagate pharisaical ideas even after their conversion. It shouldn't be so surprising; 2000 years latter there are still members of the sect of the Pharisees in the church. In fact, there is still a little bit of Pharisee in most all of us.

How many times do we, in our deepest, secret place of our hearts, feel like we must do something more for God than simply accept His grace? For how many of us is it hard to accept that God could love us just for who we are, not for what we have done? Or how often do we wonder about God's continued love for us when we have sinned against Him.

Moreover, many times we want to impose restrictions on people that God never intended. Often we won't come right out and say it, but many, especially older, Christians look at others with tattoos or piercings and wonder if they really could be saved and "look that way". Others wonder if those who have an occasional drink of alcohol are offending God by their actions.

In many different ways, we can act like the Christian Pharisees and try to restrict people from things that God has not spoken against.

Application/Confession: My inner Pharisee shows itself in my attempt to truly experience the deep love of God. I still hear that voice; "you have not done enough to merit His full love". "You have messed up too many times to be fully loved by God." I need to see it for what it is and reject it knowing that, indeed, God loves me deeply and fully not based on what I do or haven't done but based on what Jesus did.

PRAYER: Heal me, Lord, from being a Pharisee. Teach me to get out of the performance trap and enjoy being fully loved by You!!