Bills, bills, and more bills. They keep coming with no end in sight. This year our family had the pleasure (exaggerates) of paying for several sets of new car tires, a new heat and air system, and medical bills, to name a few. Now Christmas time is upon us and there will be even more bills to pay.
Bills are typically the result of goods or services we have received, and therefore should be paid. Our bills and debt on earth (e.g. mortgages, loans, utilities, medical, credit cards, etc.) are constant and can be overwhelming at times.
One major bill has been paid for all of us. A song was written about it and includes the words, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.” Christ paid the ultimate price for us, bearing our sins on the cross with his life. “…Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:10-12).
It can seem as if life on earth is a perpetual bill. Similarly, that was the case before the establishment of the new covenant. The priests were repeatedly making atonement for the sins of the people. “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…” (Hebrews 10:11-12). Christ took care of our debt of sin once and for all, the same debt for which the former priests were making regular payments (my words) on behalf of the people.
As Christmas fades and the bills arrive, we can take comfort knowing Christ took care of our ultimate bill. For that reason and with gratitude we are in indebted to the Lord.
For the elders, Terry Clark