Having debts written off is only a crude understanding of Christian view of salvation. A self under the burden of punishment is not what Christ taught us to understand about ourselves. We are given the life of God, and the salvation means the growth in that life. It includes freedom, joy and strength. Christ taught us what that life means, what that freedom and joy mean.
Life/grace cannot be nurtured in closed bags. It causes a flourishing of one's own life and extends to others. Only in freedom and truth we can genuinely reach out to the other. So life also means truth, justice, compassion and mercy. Salvation of oneself alone is not salvation at all. One takes the name of Jesus, holds Bible, and proclaims that Jesus is the saviour. That does not guarantee a heaven-ticket. One must let a genuine transformation happen in one's life.
Life/grace finds its ways to nurture and fructify; its growth into goodness, the real good of oneself and others. This good also means truth, justice, compassion and mercy. The 'good' stands for all virtues that can be sought in a Christ-like human. Every entry into a little good includes death and sacrifice. It also has obstacles that blocks, heavy burdens that drag the process of growth. Because we all have been formed of burdens, injuries, and pains of our family and society. We often want to defend those pains which are within the thorns of vices. They immediately appear because of our closeness to these pains. Often we apply these 'troubles' to the devil and stand helpless. The roots are where we have grown. Deny yourselves clearly means 'a passing through' these injuries by personal efforts, through available helps, and divine grace. Beginning from a determination, finding constant encouragement from God, rejoicing in the everyday signs of life, we make our way of the cross.
By adding chosen suffering we cannot 'remove' the inevitable passing through process. God does not rejoice seeing that we take up pains for 'his joy.' God does not offer grace as though someone gives a chocolate as a gift for a favour done for that person. God shares his life and goodness in God's love that desires the full 'goodness' all that is created. It is not a one-man business. Salvation is not a one-man gift, that each one goes and receives one's reward. Salvation is the freedom and joy of the whole in the life of God.
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