An acquaintance of mine named Gena decided to borrow money to develop his business. He came up with a good buying-and-selling plan, calculated everything, saw the expected profit, and firmly resolved to carry it out. But he had no money with which to become rich. He did not dare go to a bank. The application process there was very complicated, and most likely they would not have given him anything.
Somehow, my acquaintance learned that if you asked criminals for money, they would provide it quickly and without red tape. He approached some local gangsters, presented his business plan to them, and promised to repay everything immediately after completing the deal, including interest. They gave him the required sum.
Gena joyfully anticipated a successful deal and was already dreaming about how he would spend the profit. But something did not go according to plan, and all the invested funds were lost.
Gennady realized that an unusual trial had begun for him. He went to his lenders and told them everything exactly as it was. They calmly explained to him that debts had to be repaid, including the interest; otherwise, the conversation would be different. Gena promised that everything would be settled and began thinking about where to get the money. He understood that he had entered voluntary slavery, but there was no way out.
Several difficult years of exhausting labor passed without reducing Gena’s debt at all. His strength was sufficient only to pay the accumulating interest. But Gena did not give up. In four years, he repaid three times more than he had borrowed, yet the debt did not become any smaller. His strength was running out.
At that time, my acquaintance came to know God and decided to ask Him for help. The man to whom Gena owed the money was imprisoned for murder, so the debt had to be paid to the man’s mistress, who spent the money on herself and told no one about it. When all this came to light, Gennady realized that his debt had become even greater, and he was frightened. But the lender’s sister promised to settle everything. And the matter was resolved in the best possible way.
Debt is something that makes us slaves to the lender. Proverbs 22:7.
Sin placed us under an unpayable debt to the law, which declares that the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23. But One was found Who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world and paid for them with His life. Through faith in Jesus, I became free from every debt on the condition that I also forgive my debtors.
Rejoicing in my newfound freedom, I understand that I owe no one anything—and what happiness that is! My conscience is clear, my mind is free, and my life is filled with many different possibilities.
But suddenly I learn that, as it turns out, I have become an eternal debtor, with no chance of ever freeing myself from it. We read in Romans 13:8: ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another…’ With my mind, I understand that love is good—very good, in fact—but the word ‘owe’ somehow troubles me.
To love out of a sense of obligation is probably the most improper motive that could govern my desires. How can this be? And considering that love is Eternal, I become an eternal debtor.
Perhaps the apostle Paul decided to make a joke? But if we take into account that this command applies to everyone, then not only I, but every one of my friends has no chance of getting around it. And we all become debtors to one another!
But is every debt bad in itself?
Let me mention some things that are also obligations:
You must remain faithful to your beloved wife;
Throughout Eternity, you will have to breathe and walk on your own feet upon the New Earth;
Throughout Eternal Life, you must eat the fruit of the Tree of Life every month and drink the Water of Life.
I think such obligations do not frighten any of you. They bring joy rather than despair.
In saving us from the power of sin and the burden of cares, the Lord does not leave us idle. Instead, He places upon us His yoke and burden, which we must bear. Yet He also says, ‘For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’ Matthew 11:30.
The duties Jesus places upon us are quite interesting and unusual in their nature. They take the freedom of my will into account, while at the same time they are intended to bring me happiness, joy, and peace.
At peace and in friendship with God, my body returns to the original harmony of relationships, returns to normal, and begins releasing hormones of happiness into my bloodstream, gladdening my heart for no apparent reason. Love establishes my mind and body in this Heavenly harmony and brings my every action, experience, and motive to perfection.
But the problem of my time is that I do not possess love and do not know how pure it is in its original form. All kinds of voices offer me counterfeits and impose their stereotypes upon me, and I become confused, mixing truth with error.
But the Lord has not left me in ignorance. He invites me to enter into Eternal trade relations with Him so that I may continually buy pure gold from Him and use it to repay my debts to all my friends, enriching them with my love and expecting the same from them in return. After all, they are my eternal debtors.
Nothing earthly or impure can pay the debt God has placed upon us. Only God’s pure love is able to settle all my eternal obligations.
And I would not want to live eternally with those who might suddenly decide that they no longer owe me anything and stop sharing their love with me.
The earthly nightmare of lovelessness and sin will not inherit Heaven. I can say with confidence that only agape love will enter the Heavenly Kingdom, so that, having begun in my life here, it will never end there.
Something interesting emerges. We are offered two powers that desire to keep us in constant dependence upon them. On one side is Satan, offering the benefits of this world; on the other side is God, offering Himself. There is no third decision or choice. I cannot belong to myself. If I am not with God, I automatically come under Satan’s influence.
But God’s burden is easy. It brings me joy. When I receive love, it fills me so completely that from morning until evening I desire to share it. I simply must give it to someone; otherwise, it will cease to gladden my heart. No one else—I myself place myself under the obligation to love my neighbors continually, and my friends especially. For if I do not share this love, they will find joy and happiness elsewhere, while I will be left without the blessing.
It is difficult for me to imagine how my friend could begin a new day without words of love from me and live through the day without my reminder that he is the finest person in the world. It is hard to imagine a worse scenario.
When I enter into marriage with the person I love, endless family debts and duties await me. Yet this is precisely what I want, because I love the one who is so dear to me and expect affection in return.
Love catches a person’s soul in its nets in order to gladden the heart forever, provide new ideas for expressing itself, and fear nothing. Love casts out all fear, and even the distant reaches of Eternity, with their endless amazing discoveries, do not frighten it. Love has boundless imagination with which to devise something new forever and present what is already known and familiar in an original way.
This world is far too small for love. Love needs Eternity so that, across its vast expanses, it can carry out the boldest projects and bring every idea to life.
I have a question for you, my friends: ‘When will you repay your debt?’ The doors of my heart are open, and my ears are ready to receive daily payments.
Bible Verses for Reflection
Proverbs 22:7; Romans 6:23; 8:12–14; 13:7–8; Matthew 6:12; 11:28–30; Luke 17:10; John 4:24; 9:4; 13:14; 1 John 3:16; 4:11; Galatians 5:25; Philippians 2:5; 3:16; Hebrews 12:9; Acts 5:29.