NOTES for Mat 9:13

Is sacrifice not an expression of love? After all, every sacrifice means giving up part of one's life: in the form of possessions, money, or time. Giving up one's life - is that not love?

Let us look from another side. A certain husband gives his wife a magnificent bouquet of roses every year on their wedding anniversary, while on all the other days he cheats on her shamelessly. Does the wife not have the right to exclaim, "I want love, not a bouquet!"? Worst of all is if the husband also thinks that everything is fine with him and does not understand why his wife is dissatisfied - after all, he gives bouquets! So it is in the spiritual life: it is impossible to call to repentance someone who does not see his sin and justifies himself.