The old Tennessee Ernie Ford hit "Sixteen Tons" wasn't really a birthday song. But, it did include the line "...another day older and deeper in debt...", perhaps a reflection about longevity. I usually see every day as a gift from above and so affect some form of life assessment as part of the daily routine. Still, celebrating birthday 64 yesterday was a great time to scroll through life and do some reality check about my own debt sitution. The truth about this element of life is really humbling.
Usually we're humming the "I owe, I owe, it's off to work we go" (sung to the tune of "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go", from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), the refrain of an indebted world. Even if the balance sheets are in order, most of us feel under water or upside down in many of the relational categories. I mean, I can't review my personal liabilities without a list of serious indebtedness.
Of course, being a believer casts my eyes upwards at first blush. He is with me at every turn, fulfills His many promises beyond my wildest imagination, has forgiven my sinful nature, entrusted the Good News and His church to my stewardship, and overlooks the personal flaws that hinder my call every single day. If you start adding these benefits in a column it would be astronomical, a sum beyond even the most precise human calculation. As tick marks annotate these blessings, the reality adds an important footnote. "He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14). Incredibly, the debt is cancelled. Glory!
Of course, my personal evaluation involves a long list of people who have touched my life over the past 64 years. Gracious me, the stretch of life places many fine folks in the path, people who have lined the way with their kindnesses, words, prayers, gifts, encouragment, and even aggravations. Many of their names and faces have been blurred by the years. But, their unique imprint on my heart is etched in deep and indelible ways. It is only natural that they stand out as debts, something owed because they influenced me in such clear ways. Then, again, truth intervenes. The list then, is narrowed into two categories: those in the family of faith, and those not.
Once again, Scripture clarifies. Paul wrote, "Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8). I don't owe them anything. They love me and have contributed to my life out of their love. It's not a debt. In the other category, those not in the family, there's the need to repay evil with good, to love and pray for them, forgive them generously where it is appropriate, and to speak grace into their lives. At the same time, there's the realization this assignment is a privilege and joy, not an obligation. The debt stuff just gets better and better.
So, it's another day older, but not deeper in debt. When the day began yesterday my personal devotion took me to Psalm 3, the fifth verse. King David wrote, "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me". The new day, every day, and especially on the date of our birth, is a precious gift from God. We may wake to it because He sustains us and guides us.
In Christ, the debt is cancelled, and we are introduced to the new world of life in Him, with new standards, a new balance sheet, and life in the economy of heaven.
All assets. Totally WOW!
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