How do you go about repaying your debts? Do you set up a payment plan? Do you pay them as quickly as you can to get out from under them? Have you repaid all your debts? Do you know there is one debt you can never repay? How does that make you feel?
Paying off our debt feels good. When we make the last car payment, we are thankful it is done. Making that last house payment is cause for celebration. It can be a relief to simply repay a friend or family member. We pay off many debts in our lifetime. Some of them small and some much larger.
Despite paying off many debts, there is one we can never repay. However, that does not mean we simply ignore it. We can never repay God for his blessings, especially the gift of eternal life. Yet, we can give him all the credit for his blessings. We can commit ourselves to him. We can declare his blessings before others. We can spread the good news of Jesus.
Notice how the psalmist attempts to repay. Though he knows he can never fully repay God, he honors God. We might say he toasts God, not with a cup of wine, but with the cup of salvation which he knows came from God. He calls on God to give thanks and to vow to be loyal to God. He does this not in a private setting but publicly.
We, too, can toast God and proclaim our faith. In fact, we do just that every time we gather around the communion table. The cup of salvation is the cup we drink that represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. At the same time, we also renew our vow to be loyal to God. When we think on these things, it makes our time around the table with Jesus a little more significant.
I pray we all lift the cup of salvation to God. I pray we recommit ourselves to Jesus each time we drink it. I pray each one of us call on the name of the Lord publicly to declare his wonderful blessings. Honor God. Give him the credit. Be thankful for his blessings. Lift your cup to him. Recommit to him daily.
Psalm 116:12-14
What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
Marty Pressey 