Ransomed



Easter Sunday was all about the purchase price, which was paid for our souls and a high price at that.

God ransomed us (1 Peter 1:18).

The price was not paid with greenbacks, silver, or gold. It was with the most precious currency of them all, the blood of Christ.

Have you ever stopped to think this through? Jesus paid the price to redeem us and because of this we are FREE.

Have you ever heard the story of Abraham Lincoln visiting the slave market, where he purchased a young girl? He was moved with compassion and when the bidding started, he bid for her and won. When the bidding was over Lincoln told the young girl that she was free.

She was puzzled by his announcement and asked, "What does that mean?"

It means you are free.

"Does that mean…" she asked, "Does that mean, I can say whatever I want to say?"

"Yes, you can say whatever you want to say."

"Does that mean I can be whatever I want to be?"

"Yes, you can be whatever you want to be."

"Does that mean I can go wherever I want to go?"

"Yes, you can go wherever you want to go."

And the girl, with tears streaming down her face, said, "Then I will go with you."

His resurrection is about the price that was paid to free us from a spiritual slavery. The Bible speaks of this negotiation throughout the Old Testament. Think of it like this; for I have heard it said, there is an economy wherein the only currency is the blood of Christ. It is God's economy. It is the economy of the kingdom of God. It is the economy of the redeemed. To redeem us, Christ did not reach into the treasure bag. He amazingly reached into Himself — the treasure of all treasures — and set us free. Just as the purchased girl in the slave market, I chose to go with Him, and the journey has been one of true companionship and promised freedom. "For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." It is not a life of rules and regulations passed down by past forms of dead religion, but a life of love for the one who ransomed us with His own blood.

Just to make sure we understand what it means to ransom someone or something, lets visit similar words to find out for ourselves how wonderful it really is: SAVE, RESCUE, REDEEM, RETRIEVE, RELEASE, RECOVER, BAIL, LIBERATE, EMANCIPATE, DELIVER, BUY. IT MEANS TO DELIVER FROM SIN AND ITS PENALTY. HALLELUJAH!!!

Yes, and for this reason I can sing:

I'm free from the fear of tomorrow

I'm free from the guilt of the past

For, I've traded my shackles for a glorious song

I'm Free! Praise the Lord! Free at last!

I'm Free! Praise the Lord! Free at last!

"Thank you for the Cross, Lord" is playing over and over in my mind today and I don't ever want to forget it. He paid the debt, He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, and Jesus paid it all.

My heart is full today of appreciation for His redeeming blood and I am sure you feel the same.

In His redemptive grip,

CLEDDIE AND GAYNELL