Psalm 116:12-13
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
What shall I return indeed?
I don’t even know how to begin. I do not deserve all the bounty that I’ve been given; I have so much and have earned so little of it. The vast majority was an accident of birth, an accident of circumstances, an accident of being on the winning end of “There but for the grace of God go I.” How do I ever even think about repaying it?
I don’t, obviously. That’s Theology 101. I can’t possibly ever repay it, like a student loan for Bachelors in Dance, so I shouldn’t even try.
But that doesn’t seem right. My student loans are paid off (again, not just because I’m built of fiscal sense, but because I got a lot of scholarships and help from family), so that metaphor doesn’t resonate. And besides, toeing the ‘debt’ analogy too closely can breed resentment. I don’t like owing people money – or other people owing me money – because of the power differential it creates. And yes, there will always be a power differential with God, but that one is real, not just a function of who has more assets in a column on a spreadsheet and thus gets to lord it over you.
I can’t pay God back; I can’t ‘deserve’ grace. I am, and will be, forever in His debt. I need to grow comfortable with that fact – comfortable, but never complacent. And I need to read more than one verse at a time, because the answer’s right there. I need to lift the cup of salvation (alcoholic, non-, in the Common Cup or tiny little beakers) and call on the name of the Lord.
— MeganPrestonMeyer
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
What shall I return indeed?
I don’t even know how to begin. I do not deserve all the bounty that I’ve been given; I have so much and have earned so little of it. The vast majority was an accident of birth, an accident of circumstances, an accident of being on the winning end of “There but for the grace of God go I.” How do I ever even think about repaying it?
I don’t, obviously. That’s Theology 101. I can’t possibly ever repay it, like a student loan for Bachelors in Dance, so I shouldn’t even try.
But that doesn’t seem right. My student loans are paid off (again, not just because I’m built of fiscal sense, but because I got a lot of scholarships and help from family), so that metaphor doesn’t resonate. And besides, toeing the ‘debt’ analogy too closely can breed resentment. I don’t like owing people money – or other people owing me money – because of the power differential it creates. And yes, there will always be a power differential with God, but that one is real, not just a function of who has more assets in a column on a spreadsheet and thus gets to lord it over you.
I can’t pay God back; I can’t ‘deserve’ grace. I am, and will be, forever in His debt. I need to grow comfortable with that fact – comfortable, but never complacent. And I need to read more than one verse at a time, because the answer’s right there. I need to lift the cup of salvation (alcoholic, non-, in the Common Cup or tiny little beakers) and call on the name of the Lord.
— MeganPrestonMeyer
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