To Whom More Is Given, More Is Forgiven
"From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded" (Luke 12:48 NRSVUE). Jesus presents us with a puzzle: human suffering and divine justice. If God expects more from those who receive more, does this mean God extends greater mercy to those who endure greater trials?
Responses often stumble when they try to explain suffering as serving some greater good. But what if we approach this differently, where suffering creates a relationship with divine mercy?
The weight of divine expectation
Christ's teaching in Luke reveals a principle that governs divine justice. Those who receive spiritual gifts or material blessings bear greater responsibility. The wealthy face judgment for their stewardship. Leaders answer for their influence. Teachers receive stricter evaluation (James 3:1).
This principle works in reverse. Those who suffer under crushing burdens may find their failures judged with greater compassion. The widow who cannot tithe her last penny differs from the rich man who hoards his wealth. The parent watching their child die cannot be held to the same standard as someone living in comfort.
This does not mean suffering earns mercy. All grace remains an unearned gift. But those crushed by life's weight often find themselves more open to receiving what God freely offers. Their emptiness creates space for divine filling. The mercy remains the same, but the capacity to receive it grows.
Christ's suffering love
The cross provides our clearest window into how God views suffering. The man who knew no sin took upon himself the weight of human evil. Christ's pain was not deserved, yet it became the source of forgiveness for humanity. This reveals that love is self-sacrificial. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). Christ showed divine love through his willingness to suffer for others.
When we suffer, we participate in the self-sacrificial nature of divine love.
Christ forgave the woman caught in adultery without minimizing her sin or claiming it was good in disguise. According to the tradition, he acknowledged the reality of wrong while extending grace (John 8:11). When he encountered the man born blind, Christ rejected the assumption that suffering results from personal sin: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him" (John 9:3).
Scripture presents the suffering as holding a place in God's heart. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).
Those who suffer deeply often develop qualities that prosperity cannot teach. They learn dependence on God rather than self-sufficiency. They understand human frailty in ways that comfort obscures. They often show compassion for others' pain that those who have never suffered cannot match.
Consider the parable of the two debtors (Luke 7:41-43). The one forgiven a larger debt loves more than the one forgiven less. Christ uses this to explain why the woman's worship exceeds that of the self-righteous Pharisee. Her awareness of her need creates greater capacity for gratitude and love.
This principle extends beyond moral failure to encompass all forms of human suffering. To paraphrase Patrick Flynn, if suffering can help us grow spiritually, then letting natural evils happen might be the best way to bring about deeper spiritual gains, including the greatest one: unity with God.1 It may be the only way to lead us freely to accept that union. Moral evil (wrongdoing by people) is a packaged deal that must be taken when creating yet-to-be sanctified beings who are free and capable of failing. This freedom is needed for real love, friendship, and a relationship with God so that we can attain sanctification. Physical laws like entropy that allow natural evil like disease or disasters may be the best way to curb our moral evils. Without this, we might miss the goal we were made for.
Grace proportioned to need
When Christ explains that "the one to whom little is forgiven loves little" (Luke 7:47), this suggests a principle of proportional grace.
Those who have received much mercy, not because they earned it through suffering. Their experience of forgiveness creates deeper appreciation for divine grace. This does not make their sins good, but it reveals how God can bring beauty from brokenness.
Those who suffer greatly may find themselves recipients of proportional comfort and grace. Their pain does not earn God's favor, but it may position them to receive and recognize divine mercy in ways others cannot.
The pattern emerges: not that suffering purchases mercy, but that suffering strips away the illusions that prevent us from seeking it. The self-sufficient rarely recognize their need for divine intervention. Those who have lost everything often discover they stand ready to receive God's infinite mercy.
The problem of evil finds no easy resolution. But in Christ, we see a God who does not remain distant from human suffering but enters into it fully. We see divine love that does not prevent all pain but promises to work through it for purposes we may yet realize. And we discover that those who have endured much may find themselves recipients of mercy beyond their imagining.
Image credit
Patrick Flynn, The Best Argument for God (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2023), 269-270, Kindle Edition.