Forgiven!

Like many students now-a-days I took out some loans to go to college. Was it necessarily the ONLY way? No, probably not.  Am I now understanding what the Bible means when it says "the borrower is slave to the lender"? Yes, definitely. Do I regret it? No, not really.

Well, last week I got a letter from one of my lenders. You know what it said?

"Congratulations! We would like to let you know that your loan with us has been forgiven."

Wait what?

Yes, that loan (a large one) was entirely forgiven. Now just a heads up, this loan was part of a program from the state of Texas that forgives loans for students that meet certain criteria. Which I met. So it wasn't just straight up free money, but still pretty cool. And even though I knew I met the requirements to be forgiven, there was still that fear that the bureaucracy would mess something. And until that letter, that loan was still a huge burden.

I've always been intrigued, however, by the language used there. My loan, my debt, has been forgiven. Sounds a lot like what we have in Jesus Christ. The massive debt. The payment for my sin. My sin required a payment of blood. MY blood. My sin, my death. Not because God is evil. But actually for the exact opposite. God is so perfect, so holy, so full of glory. Because he is so holy, my sin could not be near him. I could not be near him.

Unlike my loan forgiveness, however, I did not do anything to earn this forgiveness. I did not meet any criteria. I accomplished nothing. Jesus, my Lord, took my suffering for me. He was blameless and yet he took my place. He stood in the way of God's wrath, and died to pay for my sin. Not just that, though. (although that would have been enough).

He rose from the dead as well. He defeated sin. He proved to be victorious over death. And in his life, he gave me life. He stands alive and ensures that when I physically die on this earth, that I will live eternally with him. He have me his Holy Spirit to secure for me an inheritance with the King.

So when I get that letter telling me I've been forgiven of my debt I see/feel in a tangible way what that means. I see that debt is weighty and that forgiveness is a BIG deal. And I am able to praise God even more.

Amen.