Redemption

The Bible reverberates with the message of redemption from the book of Genesis in the beginning to Revelations at the end. This is because Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and break relationship with Him in favour of self-determination and self-governance. They chose to listen to the devil who ‘comes to kill, steal and destroy’ (John 10:10) instead of listening to their creator and Father. As a result they came under the curse of sin and death and eternal separation from God. They were doomed to die unless God stepped in to save and redeem.

On the one hand in Scripture is God – creator and Father – calling and wooing a reluctant and distracted people back to Himself with cords of loving kindness and the promise of redemption, restoration and eternal, intimate relationship with Him. The Old Testament consistently points to a saviour who will save them from the consequences of sin. Until the saviour comes, they are to live according to the law and make sacrifices and offerings for their sins as there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. In the New Testament, God demonstrates the depth of His love by sending His son, Jesus, (the redeemer) who purchases back our relationship with God through the shedding of His blood and conquers sin and death on the cross once and for all (1 Cor 6:19-20).

On the other hand in Scripture is humanity meeting God in extraordinary ways and often running in the opposite direction, choosing evil over good, self over others, pleasure over sacrifice and service etc. Again and again we see God meet the people and save them from disaster. They repent and enjoy a wonderful relationship with God until they become distracted by the things around them, reject Him and the whole cycle begins again.

But the Bible is also full of beautiful stories of people who choose restoration and relationship with God over independence from Him. And it is through these stories that God continues to woo and draw all people back to Himself. These words from Hosea are saturated with His love, grace and longing :

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her and there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope.”  (Hosea 6:1-3)

and,

“Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.”

The stories in Scripture of people like Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Saul, Peter and Paul show us how fragile and fallible humans, when redeemed by God and committed to His purposes, can become extraordinary history makers and changers.

The wonderful news about redemption for us who believe and love God is that we are not only saved from our sins and can look forward to eternity with God (as glorious as that is). More than that, God invites us to enjoy the most intimate and satisfying relationship with Him right here and now. We get to walk and talk and enjoy Him as the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, leads us into all truth and makes us like Him. But, if we can possibly bear it, there is more. God makes all things new. He gives us a new nature as only He can (2 Cor 5:17). He takes every broken, brutal, ugly thing from our past or present and supernaturally transforms it into something beautiful – a kind of glorious memorial to His saving love – which He can then use to help redeem others. Time does not heal or redeem – it simply dulls the pain. Self-help courses and support groups cannot redeem or change us. They simply give us mechanisms to cope with and manage the past and present. Only God redeems. Only God can take broken, sin-sick people, heal them, restore them and equip them to become vessels of redemption themselves.