I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye. As we sat across the table from each other, I tried to imagine the banker’s thoughts as he watched beads of cold sweat roll down my face.
“Where is it?”
“I don’t have it.”
I don’t know why he asked. I had never had the money before, so there was no reason why I would’ve had it then.
“Do you realize the magnitude of the circumstances, Sam? Do you understand that you’ve accumulated an inconceivable amount of debt?”
I simply looked at him. I couldn’t think of a response that would relieve the situation.
“You owe enough money to end up as a prisoner or a slave, Sam. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?”
Again, I stared blankly. What was I supposed to say? Of course the banker was right, but I didn’t want to admit that! If I did, I’d stand entirely condemned. But, he continued to make his point.
“You know the process. You take out a loan, you build up debt. But loans let you have nice things. So you take out another one. Before you know it, you owe what you simply can’t pay, no matter how hard you work.”
He just stared at me. He wanted me to acknowledge the truth. I was trembling beyond control and I couldn’t think straight, but the words flowed out anyway.
“I get it! I understand how the system works. It was nice while it lasted, but I knew it would only last so long. I know I can’t pay the price. I messed up, and there’s no hope for me at this point. I’m bound for prison or slavery, or maybe even death—I get it! It's over for me. What do you want me to do about it?”
This time, the banker remained silent. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours. I continued to tremble, and my sweat probably wasn’t discernable from my tears at this point. He just sat and looked at me as if I had never responded at all.
“Listen, if you want to punish me, just do it. Get it over with. Afterward, you can forget all about me and move on to the next poor guy who’s lost in debt. I’m just tired of being here.”
“Do you honestly believe I have the power to punish you?”
He caught me off guard with that one.
"Um. Well…yeah. I mean, you’re the one in control here.”
“Shouldn’t, then, you also believe that I have the power to free you?”
Now this conversation was moving in an unexpected direction. Never had I heard of a man being freed of this much debt. My confusion spilled into my speech.
“I…I suppose that would make sense. But even if you let me go, someone would still have to pay the debt that I’ve built up. It can’t just be forgotten entirely.”
“You’re not wrong, Sam.”
“And, why should you free me? I’m the one who messed things up here. As much as I hate to say it, I deserve a consequence. Wouldn’t you be breaking the rules or something?”
I had come to see the banker from a new perspective. The fact that he would even entertain the notion of forgiving me made my head spin. Even so, it just didn’t seem like a sensible action.
“Sam, listen closely. You have a decent conception of justice, but you don’t quite understand how everything works. The price to free you is indeed high. You’ve put yourself in this position, and you don’t deserve anything but punishment. If I were to decree anything else, I’d definitely be breaking conventions. But, I make the rules. So I’ll offer you a deal.”
I was dumbfounded. My mind raced with potential offers he might make. Maybe he’ll lower the price enough for me to pay it. Maybe he’ll only lower it a little bit and give me more time to earn the money. He might even let me work for him to pay it off!
Never have I been more relieved to be wrong.
“Sam, I’ll pay your debt for you in its entirety. You’re free to go.”
God cannot be condensed and wholly portrayed in a short story. His attributes, being to the utmost, cannot be entirely related through a simple analogy. But, parables—as demonstrated by the greatest Teacher—help us relate to things that we struggle to understand. The idea of a banker paying off a debtor’s insurmountable loans is a picture of the grace that God shows sinners through the infinite power and beautiful mercy of the cross of Jesus Christ.
To acknowledge that I’m entirely forgiven of a debt I couldn’t pay stirs something inside of me,
To think that the Creator God came to earth to pay it in my stead utterly confuses me,
To realize that the price He paid was a humiliating death, an inadequate burial, and a glorious resurrection leaves one question burning inside of me—
How can I know Him?
