Do you pay for it twice?

I was shopping with a good friend and had already paid when she changed her mind and also wanted to buy something. So I got in line again with her at the checkout.

Out of sheer habit of paying for something at the register, I put my item on the conveyor again...until I realized, "I already paid for it!"

Can you imagine Who must feel the same way to see you walking around with that big burden on your shoulder for years? Maybe you've done something you just can't forgive yourself for, and you haven't even “rung it through” yet.

Or maybe it's something you've rung through so many times, but you just can't accept that it’s already paid for.

Yes, that's right, I'm talking about Jesus standing at the cash register thinking to Himself, "But I already paid for that!" Jesus was at the checkout before you. First in line. Before you made that big mistake. Before you failed.

In her song "No Greater Love," Rachael Lampa sings, "Your great love, Lord. You gave your life. For someone like me. I'll wonder all my life why you did that. There really can be no greater love."

How many times I have sung these lines, crying, as a young girl. Back then, I was "cashing in" on very different things than I am today. Yet, then as now, I know that Jesus’ great love paid the price in my place. Yes, for love. For me. For you.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us…” (Ephesians 1:7-8 NIV)

You no longer have to stand in line at the checkout. "It's already paid for." Freely accept this gift today!

You are a miracle!

Déborah