Our obligation to Christ emerges from the profound forgiveness He extends to us, as illustrated in the Parable of the Two Debtors. We are all debtors before our just Creditor, burdened by sin with no means to discharge our debt on our own. Yet, Christ, in His mercy, takes our debt upon Himself, blotting it out with His own blood, granting us remission of our sins. Once freed from the oppressive weight of sin, we must express our gratitude by living in holiness and loving service to others, glorifying Him through a life of righteousness. Like the woman who, in her repentance and faith, showed lavish love for Him, we too are called to respond with abundant appreciation for His forgiveness. Her faith, not her tears or ointment, brought her forgiveness, and Christ's command to go in peace reflects the full realization of the peace that surpasses understanding, a peace we are to embrace and embody in our lives.

We live in a time when the sense of obligation is often weak, with many feeling entitled rather than indebted. True obligation is a deep conviction that we owe someone something, a quality we must learn as it does not come naturally. As Christians, we come under obligation to Christ because of the immense service He rendered through His sacrifice, creating a profound indebtedness we cannot repay on our own. Because God our Father is holy, we are under obligation to be holy in all our conduct. This sense of obligation drives us to obedient behavior, as seen in the example of the fallen woman who, recognizing the greatness of Jesus, expressed her gratitude through humble, loving acts. Her response sprang from an awareness of her unworthiness contrasted with His greatness, compelling her to act in a way that demonstrated her deep obligation to Him. We stand before God in penniless insolvency, unable to pay the debt of our sins. No amount of tears, self-discipline, or change of life can lessen this debt; forgiveness comes solely by His grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. Recognizing our inability to pay places us under obligation to Him who freely forgives. Jesus teaches that those who are forgiven much will love much, feeling a stronger obligation to live as He directs. The apostle Paul exemplifies this attitude, living and working for God out of a deep sense of grateful obligation for the forgiveness he received. Despite his past as a zealous Pharisee, he remained aware of the enormity of what Christ had done for him, responding with great energy and enthusiasm. Paul instructs that, in light of God's mercies, we are obligated to serve and sacrifice with generosity of spirit, extending love as the framework within which all duties are performed. Christ's death stands as the supreme example of unselfish, sacrificial love, freely given by the Father and Son for our well-being. Remembering His sacrifice during Passover helps us retain a right sense of obligation, filling us with awe that He would pay so much for us. This remembrance motivates us to love, to do what we failed to do which placed us in debt. Our fellowship during Passover is primarily with Christ, a communion that places Him at the center, reminding us of the incredible sacrifice to which we are obligated.

We come under obligation when we are rendered a service, producing indebtedness to the One who performed it. Because God, our spiritual Father whom we represent, is holy, we are under obligation to be holy ourselves. We owe our lives to Christ because He redeemed us, placing us under a profound obligation to Him. We have nothing with which to pay this debt, standing before Him in penniless insolvency, and if He will forgive, we must let Him forgive it all on His terms, which binds us to Him in gratitude. We are obligated to love Him, and if the recognition of our forgiven sins is strong, we are virtually driven to do so due to grasping the enormity of what we have been saved from in contrast to the tremendous value of what we are now free to pursue. The person who knows he has been forgiven for many egregious sins feels more strongly obliged to the One who paid his debt than one who thinks his indebtedness and forgiveness are of little consequence. The one forgiven of much feels obligated to live the way his Redeemer tells him he should. Those most conscious of forgiveness will be the most fruitful of love, and the depth, fervor, and growth of our Christianity depend largely on the clarity of our consciousness of this contrast. We are admonished to remember the whole package of Christ's sacrifice—His connection to the Old Testament Passover, His life of sacrificial service, His violent death for the remission of sins, and who He was, our sinless Creator. This act becomes the foundation of all loving relationships possible to us with God and His Family, motivating us to love as we failed to do before, which put us into debt in the first place. During the Passover service, Jesus is not only the host and giver of the feast but symbolically the feast itself, and we are obligated to commune with Him in the closest possible relationship. What a Savior, what a sacrifice, what an example, and what a purchase price we are obligated to! Life revolves around our Father in heaven, His Messiah, our Creator and Savior, and Their purpose, and we must strive for a better understanding of what we are and what Christ did to be filled with an awesome sense of our indebtedness and obligation.