To say that what we’re going through right now is unprecedented, or even crazy, is an understatement. In all honesty it’s kind of become our normal right now. Because of this, so many of the things we usually expect are being handled differently. Some utilities, loans, and a lot of other financial concerns are being alleviated for a period of time. One of the those things is today, TAX DAY! The date to submit your taxes was moved from today, April 15, to July 15. For those of you who haven’t yet turned in your taxes, you’ve been shown some grace. This got me thinking…

In light of this past Sunday, Easter Sunday, I got thinking about what was accomplished for us through Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us on the cross (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8). Not only did Jesus die, but He was buried, then rose from the dead. This is the Gospel, the reason we exist as Christ followers and as the church. But, here’s what we need to understand. Hebrews 9:15 says,

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.- Hebrews 9:15 (NIV)

In the Old Testament, once a year the high priest would annually perform a sacrifice to push back the guilt and debt of their sin. Doing this reconciled, or made the people right in the eyes of God for the next year until the priest would do it again. While this pushed back the people’s spiritual debt to God, it didn't get rid of the debt. This wasn’t good enough for God, so He decided to do for the people, for us, what we could never do for ourselves. HE PAID THE DEBT FOR OUR SIN! And He did it through Jesus. Since God paid this ransom for us we can now live set free from the sin that has separated us from God. No more guilt, no more struggles with being good enough, and no more carrying a debt we can’t repay. WE ARE FREE!

I thank God everyday for the grace that He has shown me by paying what I could never afford. My prayer is that you will one day allow Him to pay YOUR debt and set you free. You’ll be amazed by what you didn't realize you were missing…