“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” —Luke 18:14
In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable about two men who went into the temple to pray. Both were involved in spiritual activity. But one man’s prayer was acceptable to God and the other man’s prayer didn’t make it past the roof. What made the difference?
It wasn’t the outward actions of the men but the condition of their hearts. The first man, while making an outward show and pretense of piety, was not a true worshiper of God. Pride made him utterly blind to his condition and oblivious to the depravity of his own heart.
The other man was a low-down, despised tax collector. No one needed to tell him he was a sinner. He recognized that his only hope was if God would have mercy on him.
Jesus intended for His story to penetrate and expose the hearts of the proud and unbroken. It is in His very nature to be repulsed by pride and to draw near to those who have a humble, broken spirit.
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Brokenness: The Heart God Revives © 2002, 2005 Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
Ask God to open your eyes to any areas of sin that you’ve been blind to.