Paid in Full

Paid in Full.

Jesus stamped these words on our past: on every mistake, every sin, every riotous thought that hasn’t honored Him. He stamped the words, inked with blood-red stain, on every wrong conception and misperception we have about Him, ourselves, each other, and this world.  It’s not just that He cancelled our debt from back then, but that He continues to pay the debts we incur every time those misperceptions hurt us or wound others.

It’s like going to a doctor for wounds inflicted by jealousy, fear, anger, or even unintentional prejudice—just to name a few of the ways a soul gets wounded. The Doctor removes the bandages that friends carefully applied, anoints the injuries with healing oil, and prescribes antibiotics for infection. Then at the clerk’s counter, the bill gets totaled. XXX amount for the doctor’s expertise; XXX for the medical supplies. Responsible, we write a check to pay the bill even as our hearts pinch with our pocketbooks because the check represents more than money. Each check means trying to do better next time, keeping more rules and all their fine print, and walking on egg-shells to keep from offense. It’s all the stuff Paul tells us in Galatians that the Law demands for right-standing with God. Such a high price for basic health care. But we need soul-provision, and the Holy Spirit is the only soul-physician around.

Then as the weight of our future failures fall heavily upon us, stooping our shoulders and bowing our heads, in walks the CEO of the medical center, the top Executive who pays the salaries of all the people on hHs staff and who owns the building with all its specialized equipment.  But He’s more than the CEO: He’s the Man we’re dating; the Man absolutely in love with every single one of us.

He takes the check we wrote—the payment that comes from bruised pieces of our hearts—tears it into tiny pieces and smiles at the clerk. “I’m covering this account. Every expense accrued on it in the past and from this day forward is paid in full. By Me.”

And it’s just that simple.

We need the Great Physician’s loving care, the generous oil of the Holy Spirit provided through the ministry of His church, and the merciful grace of family and friends. We’ll need these gifts every day of our lives, and we’ll need to give them out as lavishly as we’ve received them. The cost is more than we can ever afford to pay, but our heavenly account already holds our Bridegroom’s sprawling signature with the beautiful words, our guarantee: Paid in Full—For All Eternity.

Paul, former pharisee and appointed apostle, says it this way: "I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a 'law man' so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how and enabled me to do it." (Galations 2:19, The Message Bible)

And just in case we still don't get it, Paul presses home the point: "The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program [of rule-keeping] should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him." (Galations 3:11, The Message Bible; brackets mine)

And by the way, the CEO, the One we’re courting, He has alot of titles, alot of names. Most of us known Him best as Jesus.

Grace Like Oxygen

As a mom, I’ve changed a lot of poopy diapers, cleaned up a lot of messes. Very young children must eliminate waste the same as the rest of us; they just haven’t learned how to control when or where. They also aren’t able to clean up the mess they’ve made, so moms, dads, caregivers—we do it for them. We wipe bottoms and wash vomit from faces because we love them and understand that our toddler’s body is just doing its job: getting rid of unwanted elements. That’s how bodies stay healthy.

God has also designed our souls to eliminate waste, to reject the harmful substances we swallow. But like little children, sometimes we don’t know how or where to get rid of the waste. Hurtful words spill out of our mouths onto others; bad attitudes create messes nobody wants to clean up. But God does. And so do other loving, mature Christians who understand that “closet-time” must be learned. As we grow in our Christian walk, we discover that God is gently training us to expel our frustrations, self-pity, and angsts in time alone with Him. In the quiet of His presence, He helps us identify the things that harm us, eliminate them, and wash our hearts and minds anew in the cleansing water of the Word through the power of His Spirit.

As with physical children, if proper and private elimination of soul-waste is not learned, friends and family begin to express concern for their loved ones who are not progressing toward maturity. A pervasive illness of the soul often occurs from the intake of a toxin or from an untended wound that turns to gangrene. The soul warns us of its unhealthy state through symptoms that bubble to the surface, showing up in bouts of bitterness, anger, self-pity, and lack of self-control.

When we are not experiencing Christ’s peace, joy and love in our lives, do we submit to checkups from loving friends and family to help discern the reason for their absence? Can we accept others’ insights if they share concern about symptoms of illness? Even more, do we accept the medicine provided by the Master Physician, the Great Lover of our souls who sees the exact reason for our illness?

His truth “divides between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) How wonderful to know the Counselor who never misdiagnoses a trauma, never prescribes a wrong medicine, and never turns His back no matter how nasty the smell and sight of our souls’ gangrene may get!

Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to peel back the bandages of works that I slap over wounds I don’t want others to see. Thank You for exposing the injuries inside me to the pure oxygen of grace so that infection loses its dark power. I praise You for the oil You pour over my heart, burning into my very core as Your love destroys the lies that contaminate my trust in You. And I bless Your name, precious Savior, for the price You paid so I can be laid upon a bed in Your Father’s house and receive the fullness of Your loving care!