Bold Humility

“Through him (Christ) and through faith in him we can approach God. We can come to him freely. We can come without fear.” Ephesians 3:12

It is only the humble who can be bold with God. Jesus told the story about two men who were praying in the temple. The narrator says that Jesus told it to people who were certain that they were alright with God. They also looked down on everyone else.

One was a Pharisee. They were the religious elite of the day. They studied Scripture regularly, prayed long and loud, and were scrupulous about religious rules. The other man was a tax collector. No one likes the tax man, even today. Imagine coming home to a voice-mail that began, “This is Roger from the IRS…”

Tax collectors during Jesus’ time were doubly hated. Israel was under Roman rule, so taxes were collected for Caesar. A Jewish man could make a fairly good living as a tax collector. They were charged with turning in the government’s assessment and could keep any extra for themselves. The less scrupulous would pile hefty surcharges on the taxes levied by Rome. Their fellow Jews saw this as robbery, and with good cause.

Jesus begins his story by simply saying these two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector, went up to the temple to pray. It would be like saying a well-known mega-church pastor and a member of the mafia walked into a prayer meeting. We know who God is going to hear; or so we think.

The Pharisee prays, and he sounds like he knows how to pray. He is thankful: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people.”

He is moral: “I am not like robbers or those who do other evil things. I am not like those who commit adultery. I am not even like this tax collector.”

He is dedicated: “I fast twice a week.”

He is generous: “I give a tenth of all I get.”

Can you hear the hum of the “amens” scatter across the prayer meeting?

The tax collector prayed. Oh, it didn’t sound like prayer. It sounded like a desperate plea from somebody who was on his last legs. He used no religious language, didn’t refer to any devotion he had for God at all. He was loud and probably interrupted the flow and atmosphere of the prayer meeting. Unlike the pastor, who looked up to heaven, this tax collector buried his head in his arms.

He beat his chest and said, “God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner.” That was it. No amen. No repeating it again for good effect. It was all rather uncomely; this “prayer” blabbered by the intrusive tax collector.

Jesus sees it otherwise. “I tell you, the tax collector went home accepted by God.” He goes on to tell us the Pharisee was not accepted because everyone who lifts themselves up will be brought down. But, anyone who is brought down will be lifted up. I truly wonder, when it is there in black and white, how we get so mixed up about Jesus’ values!

Who had the right to come freely and without fear? The very one who thought he had everything to fear! But, through Christ, and trusting Him, we can come freely to God. We do not have to fear. The cross showed us that our sins were no longer a roadblock to the Father. Through His death Jesus tore down every barrier between God and us. That is why only the humble come boldly.

Imagine I prayed, “God, I’ve been a pastor for years. Look at how many people I’ve influenced for You. I pray daily. I give regularly. And I sing really loud during worship services. My radio is always set to Contemporary Christian music and all my kids were home-schooled  Now, please hear me.” God would reply, “What? Who are you?”

But, based on Jesus’ story and Paul’s teaching, when I humbly acknowledge I need His mercy I have full and immediate access to all of God. What do we think God needs that we could ever give Him? How arrogant are we to think He would be bowled over by our puny efforts at impressing Him?

When we understand that our greatest need is mercy and God’s greatest pleasure is forgiveness, our prayer will be transformed. We won’t try to bribe God with our deeds. We won’t try to impress Him with our devotion. We will simply acknowledge that apart from Him we are nothing. Boldly, as children who have nothing but their Father, rely upon their Father alone because of Christ’s work of forgiveness.

Try the tax collector’s prayer. You may discover that humility and boldness are a pleasant mixture when it comes to meeting with God.