In Luke, Chapter 7, a woman known as a sinner visited Jesus in a Pharisee’s home. She showered the Savior with love: washing, kissing, and anointing his feet. The Savior used the woman’s example and a parable to teach a simple and profound lesson. In his parable two individuals were both forgiven a debt by their creditor, one for a much larger sum than the other. He then asked, “which of them will love him most.” The Pharisee, who had been silently condemning Christ for allowing the woman to touch him, responded “he, to whom he forgave most.” The Savior then spoke of the woman, and said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” This lesson is reiterated later in 1 Peter 4:8, when we are taught, “charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins.” It seems that forgiveness can come as a reward for our love, which is why we are taught, “if ye have not charity, ye are nothing,” (Moroni 7:46) and, “the greatest of these [faith, hope, charity] is charity” (1 Cor 13:13). We are nothing without charity because love is what brings us forgiveness for our many sins. As I pondered these scriptures I realized how often I act like one described by the words, “to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” My daily actions are often more like the Pharisee than the woman who so deeply understood her need for the Savior. I also thought back to my recent article about grace, and realized that often we love because we are forgiven rather than being forgiven because we “loved much.” It’s these times that we are blessed, through God’s grace, with that which we have not earned and do not deserve.
A similar principle is taught in Alma 32, where Alma is teaching a group of people who have been humbled by their poverty and afflictions. He teaches:
“And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved. And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word? Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty. Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.”
Just as love is a prerequisite for forgiveness, humility is a prerequisite for repentance and mercy. However, when we fail in our responsibility to “love much” or humble ourselves, we often, because of God’s grace, are taught love through forgiveness or compelled to be humble and thus receive the greater blessing. However, the passage in Alma, like the story in Luke, teaches us there is a better way. I hope I can love much and humble myself rather than waiting for God, by His grace, to bestow upon me the love and humility I should have already had.
