Forgiven - Too Poor to Pay

Recently a dear friend sent me one of those slips from a tear off calendar with a verse and comment. The verse was from Peter's first letter, chapter 1 verses 18-19:

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers but with the precious Blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect."

What a marvellous verse! The comment that went with it was headed: 'Forgiven - too poor to pay.' and was illustrated by the story of a Christian surgeon who lived some 100 years ago in the United States. Each patient he treated was, at the end of the treatment, handed a bill for his services.

When he died, his account book was opened and the readers were intrigued to see that across a number of the bills, some of which were very substantial, was written in red ink: 'Forgiven - too poor to pay.' His wife decided that she would take matters to court, where she would endeavour to recover these unpaid bills. The Judge opened her case and, examining the evidence, threw the case out saying: "There is no facility in American law that requires the paying of a bill once the word 'forgiven' has been written across it."

What a wonderful illustration to show that we, sinners, unable to pay the cost of our redemption, have a Saviour who has purchased it with His precious Blood: 'Forgiven - too poor to pay'. What an encouragement to share the Gospel! We shall continue to pray the Lord in His good time will open doors for us that we may proclaim the Good News.

Incidentally, we are very excited about a Messianic fellowship in Essex producing one of our past musicals: The Olive Tree'. This will be performed in July and it will be a wonderful privilege to sit in the audience, without having to be a part of the production!