Render to God

When you read the parable of the tenants, and Jesus' teaching regarding the paying of taxes in Mark 12:1-17 it would be easy to conclude we must 'pay our dues' to God… or else! And there is some truth to such a conclusion. But the trouble is none of us, of ourselves, have what is necessary to pay what we owe. None of us! We are in debt, without any means to pay. The worship and way of the wicked falls far short of the glory of God. But the good news of the Gospel is that the Son has come, the "stone the builders rejected," to give his life as a ransom for many. He has cancelled our debts– nailing them to the cross. He was killed, but he was raised from the dead and has become the cornerstone of a new and living temple – the new people of God. "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." As the great old hymn goes, we are now "debtors to mercy alone."