A Debt We Cannot Fully Pay!

There is a debt that we all owe, but can never repay! I am not speaking about all of the debt that the United States has accrued and must learn to manage better (governments all over the world have a similar problem). Dealing with that would require much more discussion and thought than I have room for here! 😟 I am also not talking about any personal, financial debt that you may have. I am speaking here of a debt, that if we were working to pay, would prevent so many of the tragedies in our lives! If this debt was being realized and paid on by those surrounding me and my family, my own personal tragedy would not have happened! If this debt was being realized and paid on more by people in this community and on the Virginia Tech campus, then the horrific VT Tragedy on 04-16-07 would not have happened, and perhaps not even the incident that sent fear through this entire community again today! We MUST come to realize the debt that we can never fully pay!

What is a debt, anyway? Webster defines debt basically as “something owed.” So, a debt that you have is something that you owe. This implies that there is a responsibility to pay off that obligation, since there is something owed. Do you owe anyone anything? Think about it! I’m not primarily talking here about some money that you may have borrowed from a friend or family member or even a bank. Isn’t it true that we owe people things other than money? Do you owe anyone thanks? Do you owe anyone honor? Do you owe anyone obedience or allegiance? If you are involved in doing anything in this world, it is likely that you do owe some money to someone or at least need to pay some material remuneration for a service that has been done for you. This is how the world works. What we MUST come to realize more, though, is that there is a debt that we all owe other than in material things. It is a responsibility that we must pay toward, realizing that we cannot fully pay.

Some people give up on paying this debt and become more focused on personal gain or what they consider survival. A lack of financial means or even an abundance of finances is a test that reveals whether or not you realize your debt. Are you following me so far? 🙂 How do you use the money that you do have? Is it used primarily for personal gain or pleasure and entertainment? Does your attitude change when you do not have the means to buy the things you want or even the food that you think you need? Does your attitude change when you do have more money and can do more of whatever you feel like doing? Indeed, money or financial means is a testing ground that reveals the deeper issues of the heart (note what Paul said in Philippians 4:11). We all kind of intuitively know that our life is about much more than us. The problems we all face tend to blind us to the deeper spiritual need that we all have. It is so easy to get discouraged in paying on your spiritual debt if you have your eyes on material things or even what many around you are doing. In order to not give up, you MUST have your focus on something greater than yourself. You MUST see the ongoing debt you cannot fully pay!

What am I getting to here? I trust you have already seen. It will help to consider the words of the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome. In Romans, chapter 13, after dealing with the importance of authority (as I do in greater detail in the second part of my book), Paul gives a very important directive: Verse 8 says, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” The point he is making is not that you cannot have any debt, but that you should have no outstanding debt that you are not working to pay. The debt, though, that you and I continue to have is to show love to one another. When you do this in any particular time, you are fulfilling the law or what GOD requires. As you continue to live, you continue to owe people love and service, since there are more life experiences and opportunities to give and show this. You are paying on your debt when you continue to love and serve others as you love and serve GOD. So, there is a debt we cannot fully pay, but must continue to work to pay every moment of every day! If you have been eternally forgiven from the debt of personal sin that you could never fully pay, then you will indeed continue to work to pay on the debt that you can pay in a given moment, but never fully pay. 😃