Debt-Free Living
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. James 2:23
The first thing you probably thought of was money. That is not the focus of this devotion. (I will save that for another day.) Max Lucado shares a thought-provoking devotion about faith from his book titled Unshakable Hope.
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I have a credit card. If I were to write a check to pay the balance on the card, the debt on the card would be removed, and I would be credited with a zero balance. I would have no debt. No obligations.
According to Paul, God has done the same with our spiritual debt. He presents Abraham as an example. Abraham had not a credit-card debt but a spiritual debt. He had sinned. He was a good man, I am certain, but not good enough to live debt-free. He was continually racking up debt: Every time he cursed his camel. Every time he flirted with a handmaiden. Every time he wondered where in the world God was leading him, and if God knew where in the world he was headed.
But for all the bad things Abraham did, there was one good thing he chose to do. He believed. He put his faith in God. And because he believed, a wonderful, unspeakably great thing happened to his debt.
It was returned to zero!
God’s promise to Abraham was salvation by faith. God’s promise to you and me is salvation by faith. Just faith.
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It sounds too easy doesn’t it. Our debt has already been paid by Jesus Christ, God’s only Son and yet we try to make sense of it. As the author says, just faith.
There isn’t enough we can do, pay, say or think that can erase our spiritual debt. All He is requiring is that we believe and have the faith of Abraham. As Abraham’s story continues, his faith is truly tested. I believe he would have taken Isaac’s life to please God and to be obedient. Because of his obedience he became known as a friend of God and had a most remarkable relationship with his Savior. To be honest, I don’t have that kind of faith—yet! Maybe someday I will.
Father God, thank You for being faithful. Please help us follow You in simple obedience that we may live a spiritually debt-free life. AMEN.