FINANCIAL ABSURDITIES
As neither had anything to pay with he let them both off. Now, which will love him most? Luke 7:42, N.E.B.
This creditor is going to be in real trouble with his accountant. He is going to have to explain why it is that two debtors are being treated as if they didn't own any money when, in fact, they each owe a tidy sum. What kind of accounting fiction will he need to create to make the books balance at the bottom of the page?
It reminds me of some of the discussions we used to have in college religion class about forgiveness. "Is it legally correct," we would ask, "to treat a man as if he had never sinned, when in fact he had? Isn't that legal fiction?" Then someone would ask, "How can we trust a God who commits legal fiction as a part of the salvation plan?"
But Jesus' question to Simon, at the conclusion of His brief parable about the two debtors, makes it clear that the Great Creditor has something more in mind than the balancing of books. Jesus asks, "Which will love him most?" The issue at hand is not whether the books will balance but whether the debtors will be drawn into love--whether a relationship can be restored.
The great issues in the plan of redemption center around relationships, not around bookish legalities. It is true that many aspects of God's approach to us can be illustrated by using legal metaphors--just as Jesus used a financial metaphor in the parable above. But we often fall into theological confusion and conflict when we try to force legal concerns onto what is essentially a relational problem.
Our Father wants debtors to love Him, not just to be satisfied that the books balance. His actions toward us--even through Jesus on the cross--are revelations of His truthfulness and love, that we might be won back to Him. That is what Jesus wanted from Simon that night in his home. But Simon was absorbed in the legal questions of whether Mary deserved to be accepted by Jesus. He couldn't even hear Jesus' heartbeat saying, "Simon, do you have reason to love Me?"
The good news for us is that we don't have to worry about God's supposed financial absurdities or legal fictions. We trust a God who has more vital things on His mind: our love for Him!
As neither had anything to pay with he let them both off. Now, which will love him most? Luke 7:42, N.E.B.
This creditor is going to be in real trouble with his accountant. He is going to have to explain why it is that two debtors are being treated as if they didn't own any money when, in fact, they each owe a tidy sum. What kind of accounting fiction will he need to create to make the books balance at the bottom of the page?
It reminds me of some of the discussions we used to have in college religion class about forgiveness. "Is it legally correct," we would ask, "to treat a man as if he had never sinned, when in fact he had? Isn't that legal fiction?" Then someone would ask, "How can we trust a God who commits legal fiction as a part of the salvation plan?"
But Jesus' question to Simon, at the conclusion of His brief parable about the two debtors, makes it clear that the Great Creditor has something more in mind than the balancing of books. Jesus asks, "Which will love him most?" The issue at hand is not whether the books will balance but whether the debtors will be drawn into love--whether a relationship can be restored.
The great issues in the plan of redemption center around relationships, not around bookish legalities. It is true that many aspects of God's approach to us can be illustrated by using legal metaphors--just as Jesus used a financial metaphor in the parable above. But we often fall into theological confusion and conflict when we try to force legal concerns onto what is essentially a relational problem.
Our Father wants debtors to love Him, not just to be satisfied that the books balance. His actions toward us--even through Jesus on the cross--are revelations of His truthfulness and love, that we might be won back to Him. That is what Jesus wanted from Simon that night in his home. But Simon was absorbed in the legal questions of whether Mary deserved to be accepted by Jesus. He couldn't even hear Jesus' heartbeat saying, "Simon, do you have reason to love Me?"
The good news for us is that we don't have to worry about God's supposed financial absurdities or legal fictions. We trust a God who has more vital things on His mind: our love for Him!
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