Many families carry a mortgage on their home. As a generic example, perhaps the outstanding loan payments comprise 20% of a family’s earned income. Collectively the family decided to keep their debt burden at or below 20%. However, if an emergency emerges, it may be necessary for the family to borrow more money to pay for their new expenses. The family decides to raise their debt ceiling to 30% to accommodate their new expense. While they still maintain a positive cash flow with their incomes, they are taking on more risk of defaulting on their loans if something were to happen that interrupted or diminished their current income streams. Translate this debt to trillions of dollars and this is the situation facing the United States and other countries.
“If we don’t raise the debt ceiling, the country will default”
Every year, congress needs to vote to raise the debt ceiling. As this deadline approaches, it seems that every news story focuses upon the looming deadline. Whispers of an impending catastrophic financial crisis abound as the negotiations continue until the last minute. In a sense, it is an artificial ceiling, self-imposed by the government. Unless spending is reigned in, the debt ceiling will continue to be raised. If something interferes with the income and revenue streams of the country, such as a war or pandemic, the potential to default on its debt payment could become dire.
How much debt can a person or nation carry? It depends upon the type of debt. Like most homeowners and nations, the debt is financial and solely dependent upon the ability of the debt holder to repay their loans. What if the debt is spiritual and involves our sins against God? Is there a spiritual debt ceiling?
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14 (NASB)
Since we have been born, we have rebelled and sinned against God. How do we repay our debt to God? Unlike our financial debt, we cannot work harder, nor can we find new revenue streams. Nothing we can do will ever erase the debt we owe to God. Only a supernatural invention can cancel this debt. God had to take the initiative. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins.
Jesus canceled out the certificate of debt that we owed to God. By confessing and repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will eliminate our debt to God. Our debt ceiling of sins is eliminated. And that makes headlines in Heaven, whenever a sinner repents.
Praise God for His grace and mercy!
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 