As you open your mail you see that one of your credit card companies excused your debt.  A card that you once owed $1000 on now has a zero balance.  That would make you very happy and probably very loyal to that company.  This is what it feels like after you have realized and accepted that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. 

God looks at our sins the same way we look at our debt.  The more debt we acquire the less stable our finances become and the closer we are to being bankrupt.  We will never obtain financial freedom if we continue to rack up new debt without working off the old debts. 

Jesus once told a parable about two men who owed a certain man differing amounts of money.  The one owed very little and the other owed a sizable amount.  One day the man had the desire to excuse their debt and allow them to start from zero.  Jesus then asked which of the two would appreciate the gesture more.  The answer was the man with more debt.

If we were excused from $1000 worth of debt we would be very happy.  We would appreciate this forgiveness much more than if we only had a $5 debt wiped clean.  As with either amount it would be great to be free of that debt.  We would want to show our loyalty and appreciation for what has been done for us.

That is how our sins become likened to debts.  As we commit sin we are distancing ourselves from God.  Each new sin draws us further away from the Kingdom of Heaven.  With sin the punishment is death however those debts have already been forgiven we simply have to ask for Jesus to enter our hearts and lives.

Jesus came to the earth and lived a sin-free life.  He was a human and was tempted to sin but never committed a single sin.  His reward was to be mercilessly beaten and tortured and then nailed to a cross to die a painful death.  He did this so that each and every one of us could be free from our sins.  All our debt erased in the eyes of God!

Week 6: Coming Soon!