My name is Don. One day I was sitting in my office, when an old friend happened to drop by. He was in a desperate situation, had just been through a divorce, and owed a $50,000 debt. His debt must be paid within a few days or all of his property, house and assets would be seized within a short time. On top of all of that he had lost his job and didn't even have enough money for daily food.
Because I loved my friend, whose name is Jack, I decided to do two things:
(1) I offered Jack a job. I told him that at least he would have some income to help with his daily necessities.
(2) The second thing that I offered to do was to loan Jack the $50,000. I said, "Jack, I do have $50,000 but it is my entire life savings. I am willing to loan it to you if you promise to pay me back. When you get your pay check you can begin to make me some kind of payments." Jack was thrilled and promised to do so.
Jack, at first, made a few payments and then the problem began. I don't know what Jack does with his money but he certainly didn't fulfill his promise to pay me.
How do you tend to act around someone, when you owe them and don't pay them or can't pay them? Do you call them up on the telephone and say, "Let's have lunch!" or "Let's play golf tomorrow!" No, you do everything possible to avoid them. In other words, you don't want to hang around a person you owe, and have a debt to.
Jack couldn't look me in the face. So, one day he just didn't show up for work. I later heard that he had taken a boat, late at night, and had gone to South America.
Cliff, another friend of both Jack and myself, had heard about the $50,000 that had ruined our relationship.
I like Jack and wish we could be friends, in fact I would like to have him work for me again.
Cliff, being a wealthy man, offered to pay Jack's debt so that we might be reconciled. So he pays me and the debt is cleared. Now as far as my "accounts receivable" is concerned, What is there? Nothing, it is clear! The problem is, Jack doesn't know it.
So Debbie, another friend of ours, gets on a boat and goes to South America and finds Jack.
"Jack," Debbie says, "I've got good news for you! Cliff has paid off your debt, Don has written it off his books, You don't owe a thing! Don says he even wants you to come back and work for him."
Now what are Jack's choices? How many ways can he respond?
(1) Jack could say, "No. I don't believe it. It's a trap. Don's just saying that to get me back on U.S. soil so he can have me arrested."
(2) Jack could deny he owed the debt. He could say, "Don is a crook and is trying to get money that I don't owe." It is an insult to tell someone to pay a debt that they don't owe.
(3) Jack could say, "Really! You mean the debt is over, I can go back to the people that care about me and get on with my life?" The answer is "Yes! Come on back."
You see, the point of this parable is this: The gospel message of Jesus Christ is "good news." Jesus paid the debt of sin for the whole human race. But the world doesn't know it. When you pick up a newspaper you are reading about things that have already happened. God has done something that is to be shared as "good news." Christ has died for your sins. The burden is not on you to fix the problem. Don't deny the debt of your sins, rather come back to the Saviour that has paid the price to bring you back into friendship with the Living God.
Salvation is an accomplished fact that has already been paid for by the death of the Saviour. Your part is only to "come back" and accept the mercy of a loving Saviour.
Can you see that salvation is by Grace? It's all based upon what God has done for you. He has paid the debt of our sins so that we may have eternal life and a right relationship with Him.
Would you like to come back (we've all gone astray), and receive this gift of right standing with God?
The Scriptures say, that "they which receive the abundance of grace (God's kindness) and the Gift of righteousness (right standing before God) shall reign in life...(Rom.5:17).
Let's talk about it. Write me at WJoKrow@aol.com
Tract No.15 by Don Krow
†