A college girl was getting married but during the wedding ceremony when she had to say to her husband to be, “And all my worldly goods I share with you,” she burst out laughing! The reason was, that having just finished as a student, all she had in the world was a £6,000 debt owing from her student lone! How lovely that the bridegroom knowing all about her debt, still married her and accepted the debt as his own.

What a wonderful illustration this is of what Jesus has done for us. He knew very well that none of us could pay the debt of perfect obedience we owe to God. In view of this He left behind the glories of heaven in order to pay a debt He didn’t owe for us who had a debt we couldn’t pay! He accomplished this by taking the punishment we deserved when He died instead of us on the cross. As the old hymn puts it:

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good.
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.

In our opening story the couple would have struggled together to clear the £6,000 debt. But here’s the exciting news about the debt of sin that hangs as a guilty burden around our necks. If we turn from our sins and receive Jesus as our Saviour He completely wipes out our debt and sets us free from God’s condemnation! Unlike all the world’s religions that tell us what we must DO, the Christian gospel tells us that we can DO nothing but that Jesus has DONE everything for us. The price has been paid! We need only to repent, receive and rejoice!