Heaven’s Currency 11-3-9 We seldom think about there being money in heaven. Though we know that God bestows gifts on men, what would heaven’s currency look like? The gifts of the Spirit cause us to operate in a heavenly realm, thinking and speaking like Jesus did and does through us. But there is also a system of currency mentioned in the scriptures, and today I would like to talk about it. Why? Because Jesus had this currency, and we need to learn how to use it.

In 1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23 we read that we were “bought with a price”. We know that price was Jesus’ life. What He purchased was our salvation, and Jesus paid for this on the cross when He was crucified. He dies for us when we had not yet known Him, offering forgiveness of sins. His forgiveness abolished a set of ordinances that we could not meet, rules and regulations that we could not keep. Besides forgiveness offered at the cross, Jesus also lives now to intercede for us (Heb 7:25), forgiving and washing us in His Spirit so that we can abide with Him. We have been paid for before we knew Him, and after we accepted Him as Savior and Lord, by forgiveness. This is heaven’s currency.

When we look at the great cost to the Son of God for us to be forgiven, we must also realize that His sacrifice is a solid, valuable currency. It is unaffected by inflation or any circumstances in our lives. His shed blood is so strong that our enemy can no longer accuse us to God about the past sins of our lives. If we remain current in receiving forgiveness for our weaknesses and daily offenses, He is just and fair to forgive us. It is as if He has taken His heavenly Father’s money and invested it in us. In investing in us, Jesus also gives us a share of His currency to invest here on earth. It is one of the ways that we make this world His kingdom: making heavenly investments. Jesus asks us to forgive our brother 7 times 70 (Mt 18:22). He established that giving forgiveness is necessary to abide in God’s kingdom when He shared the parable about the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23-35). We forgive because He forgave us (Mt 6:14).

What He is asking us to do is follow His example. He purchased us with the currency of forgiveness, and keeps on investing forgiveness in us. We are also to forgive others. Will heaven’s currency be honored in our hands? It seems that this worked for Jesus due to the fact that He was the Son of God, and because He died on the cross for us. Let’s look at John 20:23. This scripture says that, when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on people, He told them “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven: if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” I believe heaven is listening to our hearts. If a brother sins against us, we have the same powerful currency as Jesus did and can spend it, forgiving him. But just as it cost Jesus the sacrifice of His life to purchase us from the kingdom of darkness, it also costs us our fleshly life to purchase from darkness those who sin against us. When a brother humiliates you in front of your friends or important superiors, you might phrase this experience as “crucifying”, and yet, you are still alive. Indeed, being sinned against leaves wounds where no one can see them. At that point we can choose to forgive, or we can choose to not forgive. Being willing to forgive will actually “put to death”, or crucify fleshly desires for revenge, slander, and resentment (to name a few).

The cost we pay to forgive begins with acknowledging we forgive the one who sins. By forgiving we are putting our brother’s sin under the same blood Jesus shed for our sins. It is a transaction honored in heaven because our life has been offered as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1). We, like Jesus, then must intercede for the brother in sin. This is how heaven’s currency establishes the kingdom in our heart. From our heart, His kingdom works its way outward, establishing itself in the land through forgiven souls . . . lives we have touched by His investment in us.

Jesus has shown us heaven’s currency by the example He set for us; purchasing us through the sacrifice of His life, and forgiving our sins. We as Christians have been given a lot of this same currency to spend on this earth. He leaves us with the work of establishing His kingdom here, in partnership with Him. Let’s go on spend freely today, offering forgiveness, even as He forgives us. Amen.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 5:20 am and is filed under Living by the Spirit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.