I’ll give you a less intense example. I’m guilty of this myself. In line with gifts or blessings comes favors, and I sometimes fall prey into the dangerous territory of “keeping score”. You know what I’m talking about. No favor comes without a mark on the old scorecard. I’ll wake up in the morning and unload the dishwasher, start prepping a meal for the day, head to work, have dinner with my husband, and all of a sudden feel entitled to sit on the couch and watch TV waiting to see if he cleans up because “I already did so much”. Every chore becomes a point for or against me on the scorecard instead of a way to help my husband and show appreciation. It really devalues good deeds. When I catch myself keeping score I start to feel cheap. I certainly believe in balance and teamwork, but there’s a difference in working together versus allowing division through frustration and unmet expectations. We should focus on helping the other person and picking up slack when we know they could use a break, not being expectant of everything being equal all the time. That’s not a servant mentality. That is a selfish mentality… how can I get by doing just enough for the other person without having to exceed what they do for me? That’s terrible! I don’t want my marriage to be marked by this type of behavior because of my own selfishness.
I think this is why it is so hard for our culture to conceptualize grace sometimes. Because we’ve been taught to believe that no unmerited gift can truly be free—that there is always a cost. I started to wonder what it would look like if grace had a cost today. But that debt was paid in full on the cross. Before Jesus surrendered his spirit, the last words he spoke were “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek translation is “tetelestai”.(Side note: please keep in mind that I am not claiming to be an expert on the linguistic aspect of the Bible or the historical records of Roman legal practices. I realize that we are likely dealing with an English translation of a Greek translation of Aramaic words. And I can say in all humility that there’s certainly room for error and misunderstanding on my end). All to say that there is some debate as to the translation of this Greek phrase within the context of the crucifixion, as the phrase lends to more than one meaning. Some theologians/scholars firmly believe that the only meaning of this translation refers solely to his successful completion of the work he came to do. This is a HUGE success, I am not downplaying that one single bit. He fulfilled the prophecies regarding his life and he executed the plan he was sent to fulfill on the earth. He submitted to his father’s will. And he finished the act of the sacrifice required to reconcile God’s people. He died so we could live. That alone is plenty translation for me.
However, I think it is interesting to note that other scholars would argue that there is an additional meaning, that tetelestai was also a common phrase used to declare a debt as “paid in full”. It has been said that it was a common practice for debt collectors of the time to stamp or write this phrase on bills or debt certificates as a form of receipt when the full payment was remitted, in turn fully voiding the debt and declaring it cleared from the record. I’ve also read that this references the Roman certificates of debt denoting crimes against the state requiring payment (as believed to relate to Colossians 2:13-14). Regardless of whether or not this was an intentionally included meaning of the translated word, I still believe that it serves as a beautiful metaphor for his sacrifice. This completely selfless act in which God sacrificed his one and only, perfect and blameless son, and Jesus made the choice to wholeheartedly submit to his father’s will in turn covered every single sin and paid every past, present, and future debt to cover all of humanity. It’s mind blowing when you consider the love of this sacrifice and the span of its effects.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve made some pretty big mistakes in my life. There are sins I can’t cover up, and sins I would never be able to pay for. Romans 6:23 tells us that “for the wages of sin is death…” Which is scary. But that’s where grace meets me. To cover the sins that have caused me to fall short of glory of God (over and over, so it seems), and to still be accepted as a child of God. To be forgiven, loved, accepted, and adored. But what if God held these sins over my head each day? What if I lived in fear that he kept score of every good thing I did and every bad thing I did? What if he constantly reminded me of my shortcomings, and told me day after day that I owed him more than I could ever pay back? Quite frankly that would be a terrifying way to live. Praise God for providing a way to live in freedom. Praise Jesus for the ultimate sacrifice.
Some of you might be thinking that I overdid it (again). That I got a bit too heavy with a subject that didn’t need to be. But what I’m trying to illustrate here is our need to show grace in ways we haven’t fully committed ourselves to showing before. If you felt a stirring inside of you or any feelings of anger or guilt, I would consider the possibility that it could be conviction in your heart. I know I've felt it in mine on this subject. I challenge the readers (myself included) to focus on blessing others with gifts, favors, and graces that do not create a debt the receiver is expected to pay back. I think we could all afford to search our hearts and ensure that our intentions are pure, that we’re not putting on a show or giving with expectation but that when we give—whatever it may be—that we are giving from a place of love and sacrifice. Because that was the example we were given.