Redemption

It's of of those "churchy" words. The ones that non-Christians rarely, if ever use. And Christians barely understand, at least not completely, and that's ok. It was a word, an idea, that was lacking at the church service I went to this morning (this is not a reflection on that particular church as much as it is on the Church). The cantata went further than most in sharing the fact that the Baby Jesus of Christmas is also the crucified Christ of Good Friday. Unfortunately they left it there. They shared nothing of the Resurrection. Maybe they took it for granted that their audience would know how they story ended (which is probably true). As Christians it is our job to, "tell the Truth, the whole Truth, so help us God." (hmmm maybe we should make that part of a discipleship oath).

To be honest I don't even know the full depth of Redemption, and God has had me hung up on this word for months, despite my best attempts to ignore it. It's a heavy word, a loaded word, a word that demands a response. What does it mean to redeem something? To buy it back seems so cold, so business like. To offer something in exchange, is still a bartering system. The Redemption of God is sooo much more than that. Yes Christ bought us back, yes he did that by exchanging his perfect life for ours. His redemption is not just about a ransom, its about restoration, even more than that it is about renovation. God takes us from our slavery to sin, and doesn't restore us simply to our original Edenic state, as creatures, but he instead makes us his children. That is Redemption God-style.

The thing about redemption though is that the more we understand it and absorb it, the more we realize we will never understand it. That it is more wonderful, deeper, and more intense than we can ever fathom. That is the redemption I am living for, and learning to live in.