Session 12

Are you living debt-free?

From Colossians: A 28-Day Devotional

When Peter asked Jesus how many times to forgive someone, Jesus told him a story about a guy drowning in financial debt. This servant owed his master millions and had no way to pay it back (Matthew 18:21-27).

In that culture, most masters would have sold the slave, the slave’s family, and all that the slave owned to recuperate whatever money he could. Instead, the master chose to graciously forgive the man’s debt and set his account balance to zero.

Jesus wasn’t making a statement about slavery with this story. He was making an analogy between financial debt and spiritual debt. It’s a comparison repeated frequently in Scripture, including Colossians 2:14, which says God canceled "the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands."

We were born sinners. We have added to our sin debt every day of our lives. Jesus paid for all of our sin — past, present, and future — and forgives our debt when we put our faith and trust in Him.

The typical American household carries an average debt of $137,063, according to debt.org. Now, imagine how it would feel to be debt-free. Every cent paid. The feeling you’re having right now is how God encourages us to respond to having our sin debt paid.

We were dead, and now we’re alive! (Colossians 2:13) We were captive, and now we’re free! (Colossians 2:15)

God’s extreme love and generosity should blow us away. When we feel the weight of what God’s done, it changes us. It frees us to see the world differently and to live for Him — rather than being controlled by our sin.

Reflect:

• Why do you think money shows up often as a metaphor for our spiritual condition?
• How has experiencing God’s extreme love and generosity changed you?