“Paid in full”, that’s what he said, “Paid in full’.  I still can’t believe it.  I still don’t really understand what it means; I’m not sure I ever did or ever will understand.  Paid in full.  What a statement, what a complete understatement!

Here are three simple words that hold so much power, so much freedom.  They almost seem to be random yet they are not. They are very deliberate.   They are purposefully connected to communicate a closing event, the finishing touch, the last mighty transaction that completes the purchase of a lifetime. It’s the end and the beginning, the end of the old and the start of the new, an incredible transition point.

And what a purchase it is.  As purchases go, this is the best there is.  There is none better, none greater, none more magnificent.  Truly amazing, and interestingly, it was not something I did, but rather something someone did for me.

 

After thinking about this, I soon realized that the offer had been there all along.  In fact, in order for the deal to be completed all I had to do was just simply ask.  The offer, no, the gift that made payment possible had already been offered and delivered.  That part was done years ago.  I just didn’t understand.

He said that all I had to do was simply ask and he would make it so.  Ask?  Ask what?  My son-in-law has a saying, “you get 100% of what you don’t ask for.” OK?   

Perhaps you are like me, in that, I have a hard time asking for help.  I want to do it myself, I want to be self-sufficient and not require someone else’s help.  I may get mad and difficult to be around while I’m working through a tough project and I may break things in the process of finding a way to solve the problem at hand, but I want to do it.  I want to do it my way.  It is all about me.  I don’t want help.

Paid in full was never something I would have been able to accomplish.  I would never have been able to repay this debt.  But still, ask for help?    Huh?

The funny thing was that when it was all over there was this “duh” moment of realization.  The fog lifted, the clouds blew away, the sky cleared and it was like I…well…like I understood it really was just that simple.  The same is true for you too.

There is a book that has stood the ravages of time and still, two thousand years after it was written is still the number one bestselling book of all time.  It out sells every other book ever printed.  It is a long book and has a lot of chapters, a lot of different stories that are wonderfully woven together to tell an amazing story.  It is the story of a question, a statement, a request for help, an answer and a payment that is beyond anything you can imagine.  And the payment has already been made in your name.  All you have to do is ask.  How’s that!

This book, The Holy Bible, says in the book of John, chapter 3 and verse 16, that all you have to do is ask and it (eternal life) will be given to you.  This is possible because Jesus, the Christ, has already paid the price for your sins.  Just like he did for me, and he has done it for you too.  All you have to do is ask him to forgive your sins and it will be so done.  It is simple, and yet terrifying all at the same time asking that your sins be forgiven.  I think the hardest part is admitting that I needed help, admitting that something was wrong that I couldn’t fix – that I needed help.  Yet, the fix was – is – so easy and so complete.  Jesus, the Christ, is standing at your hearts door, offering His help to your problem, and all you have to do is ask Him to come into your heart.  It truly is that simple.  Just ask Him for help. 

Jesus, please come into my heart and forgive my sins.   Jesus, thank you.  Jesus, I love you.  Amen.