Chapter 7A-Redeemed—From what? For what? And at What price?
The pain was excruciating as they moved me from the stretcher onto the bed. The nurses tried to be as gentile as possible; yet, the pain was sharp and ran deep. I tried to smile and whisper “thank you.” Yet, there was a problem—my only IV site had infiltrated and there was no way to give me any pain medication. The surgery was done to rebuild my abdominal wall with pig fascia. So many surgeries had left my abdomen with nothing to attach the fascia to except my ribs. The surgeon had ever so carefully placed 100s of stitches across the highly innervated ribs. I could barely whisper because any attempt to breath sent pains shooting through my body—my whole body shivered and trembled from the pain. I could not move. The team that places a special IV that runs through a deep vein up to the heart would be coming; but, they were very busy and it would be several hours before they arrived. I closed my eyes to pray as I waited. At first, I prayed that God would ease the pain or hurry the team. Then as I lay there suddenly I remembered how Christ had been beaten with the whips until His ribs lay bare with the flesh torn around them. There had been no hope of pain medications for my Savior and in fact, He would be nailed to a cross He was forced to carry. Suddenly, my pain seemed so trivial in comparison to His. My prayer no longer was for my immediate relief—instead I began to pray a thank you prayer to my Redeemer, my Lord, and my Savior. I whispered, “God, give me strength to bare this pain for however long you deem necessary that I never forget the price you paid for me at Calvary.” Then the team arrived, my IV was placed and the pain medicine was running into my veins to ease the pain. I was redeemed. I am redeemed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross.
Artwork used with permission of Ronald Barba who owns the copyright ©2014. Click on picture for information regarding obtaining copies
Ephesians 1: Jesus Christ “7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” So, in Christ; I am His Blessed, Beloved Saint and I am His redeemed.
To redeem something or someone means that the full price is paid for their purchase, their restoration, and improvement. But what does that really mean? Though we may say the words with ease; do we fully grasp the significance of being redeemed? For this truth to penetrate our hearts and have significance in our lives, we must understand 3 key points to being redeemed. Those 3 are what are we redeemed from, what are we redeemed for, and what was the price of our redemption?
1. What are we redeemed from? Throughout the old testament the word redeemed was used either in connection with redemption from slavery with restoration to God or regarding a kinsman redeemer who rescues an impoverished, abandoned widow by taking them under their wings and marrying them. Examples being God “redeemed” Israel from Egyptian slavery and Boaz “redeemed” Ruth despite her being from a cursed nation. In Christ, I am redeemed from the slavery of sin and its power over me. I am also redeemed from the curse of the law with its penalty of death for my sin; because Christ paid in full my penalty. I am rescued from my state of spiritual impoverishment and restored to a position of honor as God’s adopted child in Christ. Look at these scripture: Galatians 3:” Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:” Galatians 4:5 “To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”
2. For what were we redeemed? As already eluded in the first point, we were redeemed to be the children of God and to be honored as His own. He had created us and now He had paid the price to restore us to Himself so that He could lavish His love, joy and glory upon us with such excitement and joy in doing so. He has redeemed us so as to purify us. Titus 2: 14 “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
3. What was the price of our redemption? Christ left His throne, came to earth where He was rejected, tortured and crucified to pay the penalty once and for all for my sin. The greatest pain of all that He bore was when all my sin, my guilt, and my shame was laid upon Him and for a moment in time—He was separated from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. That was an agony greater than I will ever fully understand during my journey here. I Peter 1: 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
So next time, we will further explore the significance of this truth—In Christ I am redeemed from the slavery to sin and death so that I might live a life which demonstrates my honored position as God’s redeemed, beloved, and blessed Saint.
Listen to My Redeemer Lives by Nicole Mullen
© 2015 Effie Darlene Barba
Artwork used with permission of Ronald Barba who owns the copyright ©2014. Information regarding obtaining copies can be found at http://fineartamerica.com/featured/forgive-them-ronald-barba.html
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to any brands, products or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides regarding the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”