Devotional: Jesus Paid the Debt I Could Never Repay

By Mike Brown

My account was overdrawn. I was in college and the bank sent me a friendly little greeting to let me know that I had written a check that was bigger than the balance I had in my account (I guess it helps to open up the bank statements and balance the checkbook once in a while). There was just one little problem. I didn't get paid for another week and the bank wanted me to deposit the amount I was overdrawn, plus a small fee for all their trouble. It's a terrible feeling to be in a position where there is nothing you can do to change your circumstances.

Easter is always a reminder to me of a similar situation in my life. Easter reminds me that I had run up a spiritual debt because of my sin and it was a debt that I could never hope to get out from under. I could try to do good things to convince God that I was worthy to be forgiven, but I didn't know how many good things it was going to take to be right with Him. And when I was honest with myself I knew that I could never do enough things to counter my daily list of failures.

I didn't know how to start making things right with God, but then I had one of those "aha" moments. I came to realize that God's forgiveness wasn't based on my living according to a list of rules. Getting to heaven wasn't based on me being a good person. Heaven and forgiveness were based on someone else paying off a debt I had run up. I realized that Jesus' death wasn't accidental - it was based on a purposeful and intentional plan. I was being crushed by the debt of sin, so God sent His perfect Son to be the sacrifice, to pay the debt I could never pay.

Ephesians 1:7-8 tells me, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." The cross stands as a crossroads for each one of us. Without it we are buried under a load of debt we can never repay, but with it we are guaranteed life forever. If there was any other way for us to be right with God then Jesus died for nothing. But the Bible tells me that He died on our behalf because He was the only one worthy to make full payment for our sins.

And the good news is that Jesus didn't stay in the tomb. The hope of Easter goes beyond forgiveness, it includes the hope of eternity because Jesus defeated sin and rose again from the dead. William Craig wrote, "The resurrection showed that the crucifixion was no defeat, but part of God's plan . . . It was an act of God that vindicated Jesus' personal claims to divinity." That means you and I will spend eternity with Jesus if we put our trust in Him.

What's in your Easter basket this year? Last year's basket may have been filled with fear, doubt, worry and depression, but this year, with Jesus, it can be filled with hope, life, joy, forgiveness, friendship and freedom. Jesus loves you and He is offering you a chance to change your present circumstances and your future destiny. Make a change this Easter. Embrace the Christ of the cross as your Savior, and then reach out to others with the message of hope, the message of the cross.

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