The average Canadian family has more than $90,000 of debt.
We are swimming in red ink. It is becoming so bad that the Canadian government is trying to figure out what to do. And that’s not counting our mortgages. The problem is that there is no one who wants to take that debt away.
Aside from financially, we are also overspent in many other areas. We have a garage full of hurts, sorrows, disappointments, losses, speeding tickets, and regrets. These things sit on our hearts through the day, and darken our nights when we try to rest.
Where do we turn?
This is one of the reasons why Jesus came to the earth. He spent most of his time healing people, feeding people and helping them with their problems. He hung out with the losers and loners of his society.
The religious leaders of his day accused Jesus of being a “friend of sinners.” They thought this was an insult, but Jesus took at as a badge of honor. He knew that he had come to the earth for the sick, the wounded, and the downtrodden. He came to spend his life on those who had nothing to give back.
The human need for divine help has not changed over the ages. We know that our friends don’t really want to hear about our problems, and we assume that God is the same. We’d like to go to God , but feel unworthy.
However, God thinks differently. He does not need our money, talents, success or good looks. He actually wants our debt. In another place in the Bible God tells us that the thing that is most valuable to him is our broken heart. This is the sacrifice that he most desires from us. It is like a treasure beyond measure to him.
If you feel unworthy, empty and hurting, that is exactly the time when God cares for you the most. He’ll never turn you away, no matter what you have done or how empty you feel. He’ll take all your debt and fill you with his riches.
God is the Beloved Debt Collector.
John Martens is pastor at The Connection.