How does one repay an unpayable debt? To ask is to answer. An unpayable debt is by definition impossible to repay. Such a proposition may seem discouraging to some. If I can never fully satisfy my obligation, then why try at all? But this is not the proper attitude and it was not the mindset of the apostle Paul.
As he reflected upon the sacrifice of Christ and his responsibilities as an apostle and minister of the gospel, Paul wrote,
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Paul was truly a Christ saturated individual. He recognized the grace of Christ given to him in that he had been given an opportunity to be cleansed from his sin, and entrusted with a great responsibility (1 Tim. 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:10, Rom. 1:5; Eph. 3:8). The constant knowledge of his indebtedness to the Lord was a driving force behind his service to the cross (Rom. 1:14).
We must adopt the same mentality. As we sometimes sing “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owe a debt I could not pay.” We can never fully repay our debt to the Lord for all the ways He blesses us, but we can give our lives to Him in service (Rom. 12:1-2). As we consider our blessings, both spiritual and physical, let us look to the Cross and overflow with gratitude that compels us to serve.