Paying Debt

We have a loving Savior who gave of Himself so that we might experience His forgiveness and enter into His new life. 1st John 2 says:
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

That word, "propitiation," is defined in Merriam-Webster as... 

...the act of gaining or regaining the favor or goodwill of someone or something : the act of propitiating : APPEASEMENT

Humanity needed to be restored to God, so God sent His only Son to bring that about.  He laid down His life out of His abundant love for us, so that we could experience that reconciliation.  And, our selfless acts of service can be a visible demonstration of a Savior's love, a love that motivated Him to give of Himself.

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Jesus died for us, and in so doing, He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins - not only has He forgiven us, but has provided us a way to know Him and to come to the Father through Him. Colossians 2 relates:
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

From time-to-time, I have been sharing instances in which local churches have been involved in providing necessary relief during the COVID pandemic.  I reported to you a few weeks ago about how a consortium of churches in New Mexico that has a weekend feeding program that had been set up for several years and has been especially effective during the time of Coronavirus.

Fortunately, school districts will generally have programs set up through which students in need can receive meals - this has been done on a more "grab-and-go" basis during the pandemic.  

A church in Florida discovered that even though these meals were made available, a number of students had school lunch debts and decided to step in and help.  The Christian Post reports that Idlewild Baptist Church in the Tampa Bay area actually paid $38,000 in such debts.  

The Post quoted Yerusha Bunag, who directs local missions at the church, said: “Our church has been very invested in helping public schools in our community. Before COVID, we were involved in tutoring, mentoring, campus rejuvenation, student supplies, teacher appreciation events, etc...." During COVID, the church started "sending them non-perishable groceries that were delivered to the families when they came to the school to grab their kids' lunches.”

Bunag said, “After talking to the school districts in the two counties where our church is sandwiched between, we found out that, though lunches are being funded this year, the debt that students owed to the schools was very high,” adding, “We wanted students to know that God loves them; that in God, all debts are paid. So that's what we did. We paid the debt for juniors and seniors at Hillsborough County and the debt for all students at Pasco County.”

The article also stated:

Bunag said that the church is not involved in this effort to “feel good about themselves” or for “vainglory.” 

“We do it for the sake of the cross and to reach the lost,” she said.

And, the school district leadership expressed appreciation to the church:

Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning and Hillsborough County Superintendent Addison Davis thanked Idlewild for the donations in statements shared with Patch.

"This will really make a difference,” Browning said. “It will come as a relief to so many families, especially at a time when many are struggling."

This is another example of the Church being the Church, as the congregation leadership listened, learned, and responded.

We have to be careful not to think that we know all the answers - through a partnership with area schools, the Church discovered this problem with student debt for lunches and realized that it had the resources to meet these needs.  

The church members' response was also representative of the debt that Jesus paid for each of us. We owed a penalty for our sin, yet Jesus gave of Himself and paid the penalty by giving His life.  By giving of ourselves, we can communicate a glimpse of what Christ did for us through the cross and His resurrection and can demonstrate the new life that is available to each person.