“Jesus canceled . . the charges against us . . nailing it to His cross.” Colossians 2:12 NLT
“You inherited a debt from others and quickly added to it on your own, but can now be debt free!”
Debt is a terrible thing. Debt places a weight upon daily life that can easily become unbearable. It crushes hope within the human spirit, burdens the soul, and discourages the heart. Imagine if you had a huge debt growing larger every day, and then it was paid for you – finally you were debt free! It would be foolish to go right back into debt again. But a lot of people are foolish enough to do just that.
You came into this world with a hospital bill that had to be paid for you – a debt larger than you could pay. Your Mom and Dad were happy to pay that debt because they loved you before you ever knew them, or knew to love them. That’s what love will do. That’s the way God loves you.
There is another very real way in which you came into this world with a debt you could not pay. You inherited that debt from others, but quickly added to it on your own. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one . . none who does good, no not one.” Romans 3:10,12 NKJV. That debt for sin was paid on a cross by the death of your Savior. “He canceled . .the record of our debts . . and did away with it completely, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:12 TEV. That’s called grace – being debt free!
What does grace look like? You have seen it, even if you did not recognize it as such. You have received it, even though you did not deserve it. Hopefully, you have even given that in some small measure to others along the way, when that was the last thing they could expect. Grace is extending to another a kindness and measure of benevolence that is better than they deserve, and well beyond what they can repay.
Grace is best seen when you are treated in a manner other than you could ever expect, given unconditionally by a source from which it could not be required. Grace is not really about you, not about what you have or have not done, not about who you are or who you are not – a free gift, not a reward. Grace is all about the person that offers it. This gift of grace is not about you; it’s all about God – Who He is and what His Son did on a cross for you.
Interestingly, the Greek word for grace comes from the root word meaning “to rejoice.” Might that connection suggest that grace rejoices one’s heart with favor and forgiveness, exactly where and when the pain and loss of judgment and retribution would have been expected?
“We too lived in our fleshly desire, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature were the children under wrath . . but God, Who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though you were (spiritually) dead in trespasses . . for by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift, not from works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:3-9.
You cannot get grace by anything you have, or do, or demand; you can only be given grace as a free gift. The Bible says, “the Word became flesh and took up residence with us . . as the One and Only Son full of grace and truth. Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness . . grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:14,16.
In life you may experience occasional glimpses of graciousness from others, but real grace is only fully and truly experienced through Jesus the Savior. See 1 Timothy 1:14 NIV. In the Savior, you can be right before God today – forgiven and debt free!
My prayer for you today is to rejoice in His grace, and freely extend that grace to others.