“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” (Isaiah 43:1b)
Christopher wanted a toy sailboat. He went to his father and asked for some money. His dad told him that yes, he could buy a sailboat, but that he would have to earn the money and buy it himself. So Christopher worked hard and bought the boat.
Christopher loved his boat. He would take it to a small river nearby his house and spend hours playing with it.
One day Christopher was playing with his boat on the water. The wind was strong, and soon – the boat drifted away. He tried to go after it, but it was too late. He watched it go downstream.
Christopher was, of course, very sad about this. He had worked very hard, and now his boat was gone.
Weeks passed, and then one morning, Christopher went to town with his father. There in the window of the toy store was his boat! Someone had found it and put it up for sale. Christopher went right in to the store to get his boat back. The store owner told him he could have it, but for a price. He would first need to work and buy it back. So that’s exactly what Christopher did. He worked and bought the boat again. He redeemed (bought again) the boat!
And that’s exactly what God did for you. God made you, which means He “owns” you, fair and square. You are His because He created you. You don’t belong to anyone – not even to yourself! – like you belong to God. But if you are a believer, God owns you “times two.” After you sinned and lost fellowship with Him, He “bought you back again.” Jesus Christ is the One about Whom Paul is writing in Ephesians 1:7. Paul is talking about Jesus Christ when he says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood.” Redemption is what it is to be bought back, to be bought a second time.
God paid for you with the life of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Christians belong to God – two times over! So how should you live, if you are God’s “property”? You are loved and you belong to Him forever. If you are redeemed, you can be sure God has gone to great lengths to make sure He can keep you.
God is completely good and completely great, so His purposes and plans for your life have got to be good and great. They are better plans for your life than any of the things you might have in mind. There is nothing better than living a life that glorifies the God Who loved you enough to keep you for His own. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
If God has redeemed your soul from sin and hell, He owns you “times two.”
My Response:
» Am I tempted sometimes to think that I am the one in control of my life?
» How can I show that I believe my plans and desires for my life aren’t as good and great as God’s are?