Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Deuteronomy 4-6 | 1 John 5

Yesterday in The Daily, we talked about the unpayable debt we owe to God. Like the servant in the story from Matthew 18:21-35 that Jesus told to his disciples, we have fallen so far from God’s standards that we have no hope of ever making it up. We can spend our entire lives trying to be perfect, but we will never be good enough for God.

Thankfully for us, that’s not where Jesus ends the story. 

Matthew 18:26-27
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.” 

The servant offered to pay off his debt. He was ready to spend the rest of his life endlessly attempting the overwhelming task of settling his financial disaster.

However, the master not only released the servant from his punishment, he also entirely forgave the servant’s debt. He gave the servant a free life. This forgiveness not only offered freedom from slavery but also freedom from endlessly trying to pay off such a massive amount of money. The servant was given the opportunity to live without any financial weight on his shoulders, without the threat of impending doom hanging over his head, and without the pressure of meeting his master’s impossible standards. 

This parable is a beautiful example of our relationship with Jesus. 

Even if we spend our whole lives trying to be good enough for him, there is no way we will ever come anywhere close to perfection. But God not only releases us from our punishment, he also cancels any debt we owe him. We don’t have to pay him back, we don’t have to follow every rule exactly right, we don’t have to be perfect. 

Don’t get me wrong, how we live matters (and you’ll see that in how Jesus ends the story tomorrow), but our entire debt has been forgiven. Living from a place of fear and exhausting effort won’t get us anywhere. Instead, we get to live freely, reveling in God’s incredible generosity.  

Questions: 
If you’ve chosen to follow Jesus, are you still trying to pay off your sin, or do you trust his mercy and grace?

Next Steps: 
Ask God to help you live freely without trying to pay off your debt. Next time you beat yourself up for making a mistake or falling back into an old habit, take a deep breath, pray that God would take that weight from you, and ask that he help you follow him. 

Prayer: 
Father, thank you for not only freeing me from my punishment but also entirely cancelling the debt I owe you. I could never hope to repay it, no matter how hard I try. You are so good and gracious and generous. I love you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Ephesians 4:15
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 

Written by Lydia Snyder, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.