After months of praying, we left for our mission field but quickly discovered things weren’t as rosy as they first appeared.
Shortly after arriving, we realized the compensation wasn’t what we assumed, yet we faithfully served the people and community believing God wanted us there. Times were demanding. We were forced to half our payment to one debtor just to make ends meet. Over the next two years, our debt to this creditor accumulated until it finally reached an unpayble amount. We had to make a difficult decision-leave or stay. After receiving God’s affirmation, we left our mission field. Fortunately, a wonderful representative who understood our situation intervened on our behalf and wiped away our unpayable debt.
Our debt to God is similar. Thousands of sacrifices only served to remind God’s people their debt was unpayable. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year (Hebrews 10:3 NLT).
When we trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross,God forgives each and every sin. Our resulting good works are not payback but evidence to others that we’ve experienced God’s goodness and mercy. Conquering a past filled with regret involves being cautious about why we perform our good deeds. Serving others with charitable practices because we’re attempting to repay God demonstrates our misunderstanding of forgiveness and also keeps the past alive. If we could have satisfied our sin debt, Jesus’ sacrifice would have been unnecessary. Our acts of love should demonstrate appreciation for God’s mercy-not be an attempt to repay him. Once we confess our debt and receive God’s forgiveness, we can put the past behind us. Let go of your past and move forward.
Prayer: Almighty God, forgiver of all our sins, remind us there are no acts that can repay that which is unpayable. www.lovelinesfromgod.com
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