Paid in Full

So, I was driving the other day and this song by Cody Johnson comes on and it got me thinking. The song is called "By Your Grace," and there's a line in it that stopped me cold. He's singing about how Jesus has already paid every debt he owes.

Let that sink in for a second.

Every debt. Already paid.

You ever stop and really think about what that means? Most of us walk around carrying a tally sheet in our heads. The things we've done wrong. The people we've hurt. The promises we've broken. The stuff we did when nobody was looking. And we figure if we can just be good enough, long enough, maybe we can balance the books.

But here's the thing. The books are already balanced. They got balanced two thousand years ago on a Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem.

When Jesus was on the cross, the very last thing He said before He died was three words: "It is finished." In the original Greek, that's one word, tetelestai. And in Jesus's day, that word had a specific meaning. It was the word merchants stamped on a paid invoice. It meant paid in full.

He didn't say "It's a start." He didn't say "Keep working on it." He said paid in full.

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"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

John 19:30

So what does this mean for us? It means we can stop running the tally sheet. We can stop trying to earn what's already been given to us by grace. The debt isn't ours to pay anymore. It's already settled. All we have to do is accept it and live like people who know it.

Thanks, Cody, for the reminder.

Be Nice. Grace Wins.

FMJ