Skip to main content

Redeemed

             For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (I Peter 1:18-19)

Imagine a world in which every person had to redeem him/herself. How much of a “fine” should you have to pay for the sins you’ve committed? How much should Jack the Ripper or Adolph Hitler have to pay? How about the folks in countries where the average income is fifty cents a day or less? Should it be 10% of one’s income for the worst sins? Should we divide that by a thousand for a little white lie? So, if rich person and poor person both tell the same lie with the same results, one pays a million dollars, and the other one dollar? How would that be fair? How would it be fair to reverse it and charge the rich person a dollar, and the poor person everything he/she has?

As the sins mount up with a deceit here, an cheat there, and selfishness everywhere, at what point do we give up on a person and declare them lost? Is it based on their income? Is each person granted a certain number of points that, once they exceed them, they’re irredeemable? Are we graded on a curve? Whose curve? What if (to return us more directly to today’s passage) we were redeemed by silver or gold? What if someone thinks they’re doing the world a favor by exterminating a group of people or a sort of animal or plant? Does it really matter whether what’s eradicated is the mosquito or a group of people?

This is the problem we face with manmade religions, and manmade solutions to the problem of humanity. They either find ways for people to earn salvation/heaven (usually based on our own preferences for who should be allowed in) or we pretend that nothing anyone does matters. Everyone gets the prize of salvation for participating in the game called life.

Fortunately, according to today’s verses, we weren’t saved by things like silver, gold, or even our own good works. We were redeemed by the blood of Christ. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more