I work in an Alzheimer’s unit at an assisted-living facility.  When I tell residents that it’s lunchtime, it’s not uncommon for them to tell me they have no money to pay for their meals.  Sometimes even though they may be hungry, they won’t go to the table if they think that they owe the facility money.  I find great joy in telling them, “Your meal has been paid for.”  Surprised, they often look at me and ask who paid for it.  I tell them that a loved one did, and they seem happy and relieved.  Some residents will still act as if they don’t believe me when I say it’s been paid for.  So, once again, I reassure them that they don’t owe anything.

Every time I tell them, “Your meal has been paid for,” I think of the song, “Jesus Paid It All”* because certainly, “All to him I owe.”  Many of us don’t like to have a bill or owe anyone.  We strive to pay off our debts until we owe nothing.  The truth is that we may owe God everything, but we can never repay God for all we have received.  Certainly, we aren’t worthy of Jesus’ dying on the cross for us.  God simply loves us that much.  When I doubt my worthiness, I know that God is saying to me, “Jesus paid it all. Your sins are forgiven; your debt is gone.”

Elvina M. Hall (1865)

Prayer: Dear God, help us to rejoice in knowing that our sins were paid for by your son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.