IOU God

When my mother was alive, she sometimes received gifts that were not in her taste. Instead of “re-gifting” or hiding them in the garage, she put them where they could be seen. One was a hideous gold-painted clock, totally out of place in her farm kitchen, but she hung it over the table as if it belonged.

My mom obviously loved the givers far more than her own desire for good decor. She valued them for their effort and expense paid to buy something for her. Displaying it was her way of repaying that love, regardless of the cost to her personal taste.

She illustrates for me what the Bible means when it says we are debtors to God. I cannot pay for my sins or my redemption; Christ has done that, but because He has given me eternal life, I owe Him something.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12–13)

To live in the flesh means to live as if I did not know Jesus or His power. It is doing whatever I do in my own strength. What an insult to my Lord who has given me all that I need.

Imagine a load of gravel that must be moved from a truck to my backyard. The Lord God offers me a backhoe with a bucket, but I determine to carry each rock in a tablespoon and walk the distance on my own two legs. Or imagine a room that must be painted. The Lord God gives me a sprayer, rollers and brushes. I don’t want any of that and instead paint the room with a dirty sponge.

One chore takes forever; the other turns out very badly. Either way, I mock God who gave me the life of His Son simply by determining to do things my own way and with my own resources. I owe You Lord. I owe You the life You gave me and the only way I can repay You is by using it, living by grace.

Tonight we listened to an online sermon (that we would have heard live had we stayed in Arizona another few days). It was about this same topic that Spurgeon reinforces in his devotional for today. The AZ pastor is preaching a series on grace. The first week, he began by showing how badly we need it. Without grace, I have no hope. *The next week he explained how this grace is in all that I do. God swings the bat and sings the songs; without the grace of God, I could not draw another breath. The third sermon was about how to receive grace by faith. The message tonight was how to walk in this amazing grace from God. I must die to self and the flesh and live for Him. As the above verses say, I am a debtor. I owe God, not my flesh.

My mother received gifts that she may not have really liked, but she displayed them anyway. She felt as if she owed that much to the giver. What a touching picture of Your grace.

How much more should I demonstrate the grace You have given me. Grace is never ugly or out of place. It fits every situation and every recipient. Grace is a gift that I enjoy and appreciate. It is my life, and not ever despised. Although my attempts to pay this debt seem feeble to me, I understand that I owe nothing to my old fleshy nature which mars and spoils everything. Instead, Your gift is perfect and works in me to make me perfect (someday). To You I am forever indebted.

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*To hear this series, click here and start with January 9, 2011, The Prelude to Grace.