Paid In Full
After
living a "decent" life my time on earth came to an end. The
first
thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room
of what I thought
to be a courthouse. The doors opened and I was
instructed to come in and
have a seat by the defense table. As I
looked around I saw the "prosecutor,"
he was a
villainous looking gent who snarled, as he stared at me.
He
definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen. I sat
down and looked
to my left and there sat my lawyer, a kind and
gentle looking man whose
appearance seemed very familiar to me.
The corner door flew open and there
appeared the judge in full
flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence
as he moved across
the room, and I couldn't take my eyes off him. As he took
his seat
behind the bench, he said "Let us begin."
The
prosecutor rose and said "My name is Satan, and I am here to
show you
why this man belongs in hell." He proceeded to tell
of lies that I told,
things that I and things I have done. Satan
told of other horrible perversions
that were once in my life, and
the more he spoke the further down in my seat I sank.
I was so
embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as
Satan told of sins that even I had completely forgotten
about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things
about me, I was
equally upset at my representative who sat there
silently not offering any
form of defense at all. I know I had
been guilty of those things, but I had
done some good in my life,
couldn't that at least account for part of the
harm I've done.
Satan finished with a fury and said "This man belongs in
hell,
he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person
who
can prove otherwise. Justice will finally be served this
day."
When it was his turn, my lawyer first asked if he
might approach the bench.
The judge allowed this over the strong
objection of Satan and beckoned him
to come forward. As he got up
and started walking I was able to see him now
in his full splendor
and majesty. Now I realized why he seemed so familiar.
This was
Jesus representing me; my Lord and my Savior! He stopped at the
bench
and softly said to the judge, "Father," and then He turned
to address
the court.
"Satan was correct in saying
that this person has sinned. I won't deny any of
these
allegations. And yes the wages of sins is death and this woman
deserves
to be punished". Jesus took a deep breath and turned
to His Father with
outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However,
I died on the cross so that this
person might have eternal life,
and this person has accepted Me as their Savior,
so this person
is mine, their name is written in the book of life and no one can
snatch
anyone from Me. Satan still does not understand yet, this
person is not to be given justice,
but rather mercy."
As
Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at his Father and
replied,
"There is nothing else that needs to be done, I've
done it all."
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and
slammed the gavel down, and the
following words bellowed from His
lips -- "This man is free -- the penalty
for him has already
been paid in full, case dismissed."
As my Lord led me
away I could hear Satan ranting and raving, "I won't give
up,
I'll win the next one." I asked Jesus as He gave me my
instructions
where to go next, "Have you ever lost a
case?"
Christ lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone
that has come to me and asked Me
to represent them has received
the same verdict as you, Paid in Full."
“But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners,
Christ died for us. Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved
from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but
we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have
now received the atonement.”
- Romans 5:8-11.
In : Forgiven

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