When He hung on that cross
He bore not some curses of humanity
He bore it all; past, present, and future.
When He hung on that cross
He wasn’t paying part of our bill
Full price on every debt, He paid.
When He hung on that cross
He didn’t die for the good
Or would-be good ones
Let the bad figure their way out:
He died for one and for all.
When He hung on that cross
And declared it is finished
He left none out: He meant all;
For everyone, for everything.
When He hung on that cross
Christ paid the full price
For the redemption of every soul
That lived and lives and ever will live.

Food For Thought: Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m finished!” It is a heart-rending exclamation that speaks utter hopelessness. When one is finished, it means there is nothing left behind to hope or live for. If the job is finished, there is nothing left to be done anymore. If a debt is finished, it implies that even if you still had money on you, there is nothing left to be paid for. Everything requiring payment has been settled. As Jesus bowed dying on the cross in Golgotha, He didn’t pay a percentage of our debt so that we make up the balance. As he hung on that cross dying, it wasn’t only that His human life was spent, it also meant that every debt was paid. Every debt left nothing out. That payment was coverage for the sins of everybody; all the sins that were committed by our predecessors, the ones we are committing, the ones to be committed by generations yet to come. They were all summed up on the cross and that singular payment cancelled them all. If part payment is made on a slave, his freedom is still subject to some factors and highly dependent on when, if, and how the full payment is made. In our own case, Christ’s payment was not done in part to be finished sometime later. His payment wasn’t done in secret so that it is shrouded in mystery and subject to who tells the story. There were no limitations to who and what was covered in that settlement; everything, for everyone is what that bill carried so that with courage and boldness, we can enjoy the fullness of the joyful life for which He paid so dear a price.

Scripture: Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53: 4.

Prayer: Dear Lord, the enemy exploits my errors and guilt to make me feel as if Your work on the cross left some debts outstanding: may I be grounded in the knowledge that when You said it was finished, all my debts were paid in full, in truth and in deed, amen.