I've handled my share of bills in my life. But the one from the orthodontist was the best bill I ever got.
When each of our children hit junior high, they ended up with a mouth full of metal - the price you pay to have straight teeth for the rest of your life. And there is a price to pay. For the kids, retainers when you sleep, some hassle from your friends; for mom and dad, bills. Ours were smaller than some because our orthodontist graciously gave our family a hefty discount, but it was still a chunk of change.
Then came the bill I'll never forget. The big amount owed was there. But over it was stamped three stunning words: "Paid In Full."
The biggest debt I ever owed was one I could never pay, no matter how long I live. Like all my fellow humans, I have taken the life God gave me to live for Him and hijacked it for me. I'm a stubborn rebel against the King of Heaven. I stand defenseless before the charge that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The payment for the life I stole from God is way beyond my ability to pay, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Sin really is that bad. It's eternal separation from the God who's the source of everything good.
But then came Good Friday. The day the sinless Jesus "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). There's a reason Jesus cried out from His cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Why would God the Father turn His back on His only Son? He did, so He would never have to turn His back on you on me. Because the payment for my sin is being cut off from God. Jesus took all the hell of that when "He freed us from our sins by His blood" (Revelation 1:5).
When Jesus said from His cross, "It is finished," He used a word that literally means "paid in full." The day I put all my trust in Jesus as the One who paid for my sin, God did what only He could do. He stamped my bill "Paid In Full." It's the transaction that changes your eternity.
The bill was paid on Good Friday. God cancels what you owe the day you take for yourself what His Son died to do. Wouldn't Easter Week be an awesome time to go from bankrupt to debt-free?
