International
09 Nov 06
And you,
who were dead in your trespasses…God made alive…by cancelling the record
of debt that stood against us…This he set aside, nailing it to the
cross. (Col 2v13-14)
All people everywhere owe God a debt that will cost our lives
Loans are common. A mortgage for the house, a new car, or just to help
make ends meet. It leaves you with a debt that weighs heavy. A debt that
is unrelenting. A debt that you must pay back or face the consequences –
repossession, homelessness, bankruptcy.
The Bible is clear; all people everywhere enter the world heavy in debt
to God. It’s a debt that we increase each day; not a financial debt, but
a moral one. Every time someone ignores God and chooses their way over
God’s, the debt gets bigger. That is what 'trespasses' means – living
our way not God’s. It’s a debt with consequences - physical and
spiritual death. A total separation from God - the source of life and
goodness for all of time. It describes all people everywhere – in debt
to God to such an extent it will claim our lives. And none of us are
able to pay God back.
Jesus’ death fully pays what we owe
The great news of Christianity is that Jesus has done what we could
never do. Jesus has wholly paid the debt that we owed to God. When Jesus
died he took the penalty, the cost of our debt that we deserved to face.
He took our debt upon himself and our account before God is cleared. In
God’s eyes we owe nothing, Jesus paid for us. We are free of our debt,
and freed of the consequences of that debt. Trusting Jesus means our
debt will no longer separate us from God, but instead he will welcome us
in.
This is the great motivation behind our pray, play and say for Jesus.
All we need is Jesus because Jesus has paid the debt we owed. It is a
message of freedom, release and joy. Let it fill your heart now, and
your conversation, next time you get the chance.
Alex and Graham
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