What I Owe You

It’s not what you owe me, it’s what I owe you.

 

This phrase popped into my mind while processing a betrayal with a friend. The betrayal was real and, by all accounts, the friend had every right to take their pound of flesh in exchange for the wound received.

 

Of course, living the Jesus way means this kind of vengeance is unacceptable. We know that. But living it out is another thing entirely. 

 

Something about the way this particular phrase came to me, struck a chord. 

 

It's not what you owe me,

but what I owe you.

 

As humans we love to think in terms of who owes what. It helps us know our place. Are we the lender or the debtor? We love to keep accounts in our relationships, carefully measuring whether we have given more or received more and whether it has been too long since "they" have made a deposit! 

 

Personally, I don't like to be in another's debt. — I scramble to get out of it. I'll beg forgiveness. I'll pay extra to make it right. I'll go out of my way until I feel that the deficit has been sufficiently back-filled.  

 

The problem is that it is a totally wrong way to live.

 

Because it’s not about what you owe me, but what I owe you.

 

The Apostle Paul said it well, “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another.”

 

There is one bill that can never be marked zero. One bill that can never be sufficiently back-filled no matter how much remorse, regret, or relief I give. Measuring how much I have given is meaningless! 

 

The reason we have an open debt is because of what Jesus did for us. On the Cross, He covered our debt with God the Father. He made a way where there was no way. He opened the door that no man can shut. He invited us into heaven to spend eternity with Him. 

 

And He did that before we even knew Him. We certainly didn’t deserve it! If His gift was based on our deserving it, we wouldn’t have a chance. This kind of love is almost impossible for us humans to understand. It is a love that gives the best even when others do their worst.

And that is why we have to ask Jesus to help us to love others in this way. It is only through His power that we can do it! 

 

Who do you owe forgiveness?

Who do you owe patience?

Who do you owe a second (or a 100th chance)?

Who do you owe a listening ear or a kind response?

 

I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go! 

 

Andrew Cromwell

Lead Pastor