$3.60

Recently, I was on my way to Syracuse to meet with another pastor whom I have a great deal of respect for. It was snowing and I was doing everything I could not to be late as I knew his time was very valuable.While driving down the thruway I realized I didn't have a dime on me. I had no way of paying for the toll at my destination's exit.

Quickly, I pulled off at a rest stop and got some cash from the atm.

I was dressed in nicely so I had to try and hop over and dodge huge ponds of slush in the parking lot as best as I could. Nothing worse than having wet socks and cold feet all day.

After this briefly stressful setback, I was back on the road and headed to his church.
I arrived on time...just barely. The trip would've been a lot less stressful if I hadn't had to stop to find money to pay my toll.

On my trip back home, as I was driving through the toll lane, the attendant at the window said to me, "Hey, what are you doing...you have an ezpass??"

I was driving through the lane to pay my toll when it was already paid for me!

The church car I was driving had an ezpass box in front of the rear view mirror that I hadn't noticed before. All this time I was stressing out about paying for my own toll when it was already paid for me. The thought of paying my way through the toll when it was already being charged to another account was absurd to this toll attendant.

How many times do we do this in our Christianity?

The apostle John recorded some of Jesus' last words on the cross as He cried out, "It is finished!" (John 19:31). These words in the Greek literally mean PAID IN FULL!

There is nothing I can do to add to the payment Jesus made for my salvation on the cross. At the highest price imaginable, Jesus paid my toll and gave me an ezpass.

Every payment that has ever needed or will need to be paid has already been charged to His account through one amazing transaction on that rugged cross of Calvary.

I think I'll keep my $3.60 toll receipt in my journal as a reminder of my account already being paid in full.

2010 is going to be another year where we will have the chance to let the Grace of God amaze us over and over again.