One of the most incredible moments in college graduation commencement history occurred on May 19, 2019, at Morehouse College, a liberal arts college in Atlanta, GA. The guest speaker for the commencement was Robert Smith, founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm which helped make Smith a billionaire five times over. Having received an honorary doctorate just moments earlier, making him a member of the class of 2019, he stunned the graduates and their families when he announced in his address, “On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re going to put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.” The nearly 400 graduates had accumulated nearly $40 million dollars in student loans, making the gift the largest in school history.1
Let me share a few random thoughts about what Robert Smith did that day.
First, I wonder if it was easier for him to pay off the graduates’ debt that was owed to another institution than it would have been for him to forgive the graduates and cancel their debt had it been owed to him instead. Second, in essence, by graduating in the same class as he, the graduates had earned the right to have their debt paid. Third, he paid a debt that over time with financial discipline and good use of his or her college degree, a given graduate could have repaid him or herself. Fourth, when you put a calculator to it, most people would probably not consider what Robert Smith did to be a sacrifice on his part. $40 million dollars was 0.8% of his net worth leaving him with $4,960,000,000. Fifth, even though he made the offer, each graduate still had to take him up on the offer for his or her debt to be paid in full.
These ponderings bring me to thoughts about Easter, which as I write this piece is less than two weeks away. Whereas one of the most incredible moments in college graduation commencement history occurred on May 19, 2019, at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, one of the two most incredible moments in all of history occurred one Friday on a hillside outside Jerusalem around 2000 years ago. It occurred when Jesus of Nazareth, Creator God of the universe in human flesh, perfect and sinless in every way, willingly gave His life on a Roman cross as payment for the sin debt of all mankind. The second most incredible moment in all of history occurred on Sunday of that same weekend when Jesus was resurrected from the dead to prove to the world that He could give eternal life to anyone who believed in Him. Nothing else has ever happened that is more incredible than these two. What a weekend that was.
Let me share a few thoughts about what Jesus did that first Easter weekend.
- First, when Jesus paid that debt, He paid a debt that was owed to Him personally by all of us who have ever lived. And because the debt was owed to Him, by paying our debt He also forgave our debt. Romans 3:23 in the NT says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NASB). That means every person who has ever lived, no matter how good a person he/she is, has broken God’s commands, failed to meet His moral standards, and has replaced Him with his/her own god(s). Romans 6:23 adds that “the wages of sin is death (NASB).” Death is the debt we owe to God for our sins and which must be paid. Jesus paid our sin debt for us by experiencing death in our place.
- Second, Jesus paid a debt that no one deserves or is able to pay for him/herself. Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (NASB).” Ephesians 2:8-9 adds, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (NASB).” Because of the incredibly high standards that come with God’s holiness, no one can earn enough points or do enough good deeds to deserve heaven. Without forgiveness being given to us as a gift, none of us would have any hope of making it to heaven. That’s why we call it “amazing grace.”
- Third, Jesus’ payment for our sin debt came as a total sacrifice on His part. He left nothing on that hillside that Friday afternoon, and other than His grave clothes, nothing in His tomb. He gave His all – His very life. And based on 1 Peter 3:18 it worked to perfection, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit (NASB)….”
- Fourth, just like each of the nearly 400 students at Morehouse College had to accept and receive the payment Robert Smith offered that day for it to benefit them, we, too, must accept and receive what Jesus did Friday through Sunday if we are to receive the benefit of forgiveness and eternal life that it brings. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name (NASB). We’re ready to receive God’s free gift of salvation when we agree with God that we are sinners, when we are willing to turn away from our sin, and when in faith we believe that Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead are the only ways we can experience both forgiveness for our sins and life in heaven eternally. At that moment the truth of Romans 10:13 then comes into play, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (NASB).”
Regarding salvation from sins and the gift of eternal life, Jesus has done all the heavy lifting for us. If you have never received Him through faith, I urge you to do it today. And please let me know by email if you do.
Happy Easter.
1 USA Today, 5/21/19, p.3B
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