"A Great Debt! Who Can Pay?"

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

The late H. A. Ironside, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, told the story of a young Russian soldier. His father was a close friend of Czar Nicholas I, and he was quickly given a huge responsibility—the role as paymaster in one of the barracks. Although he meant well, he began to gamble and lost a large sum of the government’s money along with his own.

Some time later a notice was sent out that the Czar’s representative was coming for an accounting of the books. He did an assessment of his debt and realized he was terribly short of personal funds to cover it. He was overwhelmed. He would be disgraced. His ruin was certain; undoubtedly, prison or death awaited him.

In his guilt, he decided the only solution was suicide. He took out his revolver and placed it on the table. Taking a piece of stationary, he wrote out his illegal behavior. After totaling up the amount of the stolen funds, he wrote, “A great debt! Who can pay?”

He planned to end his life at midnight but fell asleep. On that night, Czar Nicholas took a walk and saw a light on in the barracks. He went in and recognized his friend’s son. Just before leaving, he noticed the ledger on the table. He looked over the books and immediate knew all that had taken place. He was about to awaken and arrest the boy when his eye fell to the last line on the stationary, “A great debt! Who can pay?” He took up the pen and wrote one word.

When the soldier awoke, he reached for his revolver, but then his eye caught something that was not on the stationary from the evening before. Under his statement, “A great debt! Who can pay?” he read the single word: NICHOLAS.

He was dumbfounded! It was the czar's signature. How could this be? Had the Czar been there while he was asleep? Would he really forgive the debt? The only thing he could do was rest in the faithfulness of the Czar. That morning a messenger went to the barracks with the exact amount needed to pay the debt. It was true; only the Czar could pay—and he did.

The same is true of you and me. We owe a debt because of our sin. The songwriter had it right when he said, “Oh, to grace how great a debtor!” And like the young soldier we also cry out, "A great debt! Who can pay?" Underneath there is a single word: Jesus. And likewise, we can only trust in His faithfulness. Only Christ could pay for our sins—and He did!