The Two Debtors
A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt. And Jesus said to him, You have judged rightly.
Luke 7:41-43
Jesus told this at a Pharisee's dinner table while a woman with a broken reputation washed his feet with her tears and the host silently judged them both.
Love is the receipt grace prints. The woman loved extravagantly because she knew how much she had been forgiven. Simon loved little, not because his debt was small but because he had never admitted he had one.
Cold religion is usually forgotten forgiveness. If your love has gone lukewarm, do not manufacture warmth. Revisit your five hundred pence and let gratitude do what duty cannot.