Redeemed

by: Mark Fackler

Imagine you gathered all your treasures, every scrap or doo-dad you ever collected or bought, every baseball card you once hoped would be the big prize, every necklace that looked so good on the countless racks you surveyed. Then you placed it all on the pawn shop’s counter. A moment of hesitation. Once sold, how impossible will it be to get that stuff back – to find each buyer, to track each tool, cup, and saucer?

God promises a buy-back of every part of creation through Jesus, including every person who believes. Nothing lost, none forgotten.

And all at the highest price. This is the redemption the prophets anticipated: “I the Lord am your Savior, your redeemer” (Isa. 60:16). This is what David sang about: “O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Ps. 19:14). This is the final buy-back. Hebrews calls it the “eternal redemption” (9:12). It brings us all back to God, forever.

Redemption is a business term, common in the marketplace. In Bible times, redemption of many kinds changed how a person would live: slave to free, criminal to acquitted, debtor to creditor. In salvation, God offers the wealth of his very being – his one and only Son – as the redemption price. Now free, our first response should be worship; our second, eager service. Redeemed by God, we belong to God: heart, soul, and body.