Redeemed

I was privileged to read two tremendous passages of scripture this morning. I began my reading in the last few chapters of the book of Leviticus. There is a lot of very intriguing stuff in these chapters. The sort of stuff that makes me extremely grateful to be living in this age of grace. It is interesting nonetheless. The Year of Jubilee is of particular interest. It was a year of great liberty for the Children of Israel - a year for redeeming that which had been lost. A year also when those who had been enslaved got to drink from the sweet springs of freedom. The last several verses of chapter 25 relate to us the misfortune of a man who, because of his poverty, must sell himself as a slave. What a sad scenario to consider. What hopelessness and desperation such a man must surely have felt. But the law goes on to state that after the man has been purchased as a slave he can be redeemed by a kinsman - a brother or perhaps an uncle. His freedom can once again be enjoyed at the expense of one who loves him. My second reading of this morning took me to the closing chapters of the book of Luke where the picture given in Leviticus is fleshed out in a very practical and personal sense for me. I was once shackled because of my abject poverty - my sin and unrighteousness which is utterly repulsive to a holy God. Helpless? Completely. Hopeless? Seemingly - until, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, because He loved me, willingly layed His life down as the price of redemption that had to be paid for my freedom. So now I enjoy liberty - the complete freedom to worship and to serve my God. Praise Him. He has REDEEMED me.