Daily Inspiration

“Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” -Matthew 5:20-26
 
Many believe the final judgement is either heaven or hell; once judged, the placement is final and eternal. If there are only two choices, then where is this prison Jesus speaks of?
 
This place is undoubtedly not heaven; by His description, Jesus calls it prison. Neither is it hell, for the judgement to hell is final and eternal, where there is no release. Jesus describes a place, like prison, where our spiritual debts, left unpaid on earth, will be settled and cleared from our ledger. It is where we will pay the last penny owed for our sins in life.
 
At the moment of my fateful wreck, I traveled to what could be described as a small cell, from which there was no escape. I paid dearly in the currency of remorse, regret, and suffering the loss of God’s touch. I knew I was there because of the sins in my life. Not until I surrendered, not until I admitted, there was nothing I could do to free myself, did Christ settle my debt, freeing me and washing me in His Blood. Friends, I was given only glimpses of heaven and hell, but I spent an eternity in a prison that was just as Christ described.
 
Saint Matilda Of Saxony, pray for us.
 
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Jesus, I trust in you.