Paid In Full

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; NIV 2010 Edition)

Imagine being out at your favorite restaurant with some friends for a huge celebration or random get together. Now imagine that the appetizers and food and drinks just keep coming and coming. Everyone is having a good time laughing and joking and eating but at the same time everyone is racking up a huge bill! The costs silently creep up on everyone and next thing you know, here comes the bill.


You look at your portion of the bill and realize that you've spent more than you budgeted for and honestly don't have that amount of money in your account. Embarrassed to say anything to anyone, you sorta just sit there and debate whether or not to just "charge it" and take the overdraft fees (which, by the way, are a pain in the neck!). As everyone is calculating their portion of the bill plus tip, the manager makes his way to your table and gives you the best news of the night that you've heard all evening...


"I just wanted to thank you all for choosing our restaurant tonight. You guys were such a lively crowd and had such great spirits about you that I don't want you to worry about your meal, I'll take care of it. Just be sure to spread our good name and come back from time to time, ok?"


Whoa. You just went from not being able to pay the costs of your food and drinks to the manager stepping in and not only paying the bill for you but also charging you to go and share the good news about the restaurant. There HAS to be a word to describe what just happened here...

Reconciliation: The concept of having the debt of sin (and all of it's unhealthy side effects) to pay but Christ stepping and not only paying the cost but also being your advocate come Judgment Day. 

Just like the manager who paid for your bill at the restaurant, Paul describes reconciliation as Christ's way of paying the debt of your sins and restoring the right relationship with God the Father. Reconciliation happened not because of anything we did, but instead because Jesus came down to Earth, took on our sin, paid for all of it for eternity, and then invites us to allow Him to be the one who pardons our debt of sin. It's almost like having an American Express card and He is the one who pays the bill each month. It's God's way of making us perfect. That which we cannot pay on our own to make us perfect, Jesus steps in to cover. The truth is we couldn't pay for any of it, which makes this process even that much greater!


You may be without Christ and have some outstanding debts that, at some point, will need to be paid for. Why wait to accept Him? He's already paid the bill.




(Bonus Coverage: Sanctus Real - Forgiven)

"In this lifeI know what I’ve been

But here in your armsI know what I am

[chorus]

I’m forgiven

I’m forgiven

And I don’t have to carry

The weight of who I’ve been

Cause I’m forgiven"