Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Deuteronomy 1-3 | 1 John 4
Have you ever owed someone something you knew you could never pay back?
Maybe it was money you didn’t have, an apology you couldn’t take back, or a kindness so significant that “thank you” never seemed like enough. There’s something humbling about recognizing that what we owe is far greater than what we have the ability to give.
Matthew 18 gives us a picture of a debt like that.
Matthew 18:23-25
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold - along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned - to pay the debt.”
“He couldn’t pay.” Those three words are easy to read past, but they reveal something profound about our relationship with God. We have a debt we cannot repay.
Sin has created a separation between us and a holy God, and no amount of good works, religious activity, generosity, or trying harder can erase what we owe. We cannot work enough to make ourselves righteous. We cannot simply promise to do better and somehow undo what has already been done.
The servant in Jesus’ story had nothing left to offer. His debt was simply too great.
Perhaps that is where we sometimes struggle. We want to believe we can fix everything ourselves. We want to earn our way back, prove ourselves worthy, or make up for our failures. However, the gospel begins when we recognize that we cannot save ourselves.
We are the debtor and the debt is impossible to pay. There is no clever negotiation, hidden resource, or last minute effort that can change the balance. The account stands before us, and the weight of it is more than we could ever carry on our own.
But here is where the story gets interesting. The servant falls before his master and begs for patience. He makes a promise he cannot possibly keep: “Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all” (Matthew 18:26).
But what happens next? Does the king demand repayment? Does he carry out the sentence? Or does something completely unexpected happen?
Come back tomorrow as we continue the story and discover what happens when mercy meets an unpayable debt.
Questions:
What emotions surface when you consider the reality that you have a debt to God that you could never repay on your own?
Why do you think it can be difficult for us to admit that we cannot fix or save ourselves?
Where are you tempted to rely on your own good works, effort, or ability rather than recognizing your need for God?
Next Steps:
Pause and acknowledge. Spend a few quiet moments today acknowledging your need for God. You don’t have to find the right words, simply come honestly.
Sit with the tension. Don’t rush past the uncomfortable reality of the servant’s debt. Let it remind you of just how deeply we need God’s grace.
Prayer:
Lord, today I am reminded of something I don’t always admit: I cannot do this on my own. I pray that you humble my heart enough to recognize my need for you. Strip away my pride, my striving, and my belief that I have to fix everything myself. Help me stop measuring my worth by what I can accomplish and start resting in who you are. Today, I bring you my debt, my failures, my sin, my regrets, and every place I have fallen short. I know I cannot change the balance, but I trust that you are not finished with this story. 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 Heaven Nash, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.