Redemption

May 22 2011

"We have redemption in Him (Jesus Christ) through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." Ephesians 1:7-8 (HCSB, parenthesis mine)

Redemption is never cheap, it costs, it requires someone to invest, to care, to act. Driving through different neighborhoods of Washington DC is what reminded me of that. There are lots of old homes in DC, as well as streets lined by brick row houses with narrow facades. Many of them are dilapidated, trash and weeds littering the tiny front yards as well as the streets. If these
homes and neighborhoods are left to their current rate of decay, they will be an urban wasteland of ruins in the not too distant future.

On the third day of our visit to the Capital we were invited to a social gathering at the house of director of the graduate program our oldest daughter had just completed. The trusty and amazing little GPS unit mounted to the windshield of our rental car helped us navigate through the city maze. We pulled up in front of 146 Georgia (not the real address), one of those narrow looking row houses made of brick. But nothing was out of place or broken down here. The front yard was beautiful, carefully planted, and well kept, as were all the other yards and houses up and down the street. This street looked clean, inviting, cared for. That’s when it hit me, “This is a picture of redemption.”

Somehow, some time ago the people living in this neighborhood, or some investor, decided to redeem this neighborhood. I imagine these row houses didn’t look much different from the multitude of their dilapidated cousins we saw on the way getting here. But someone saw potential in this street, in this neighborhood, and they decided to invest the time, the work, and the resources to redeem it.

Daily, on the way to our daughter’s place we drove by a park just a few blocks from where she lives. The houses by the park are unredeemed. The park itself is a beautiful spot if it weren’t for all the trash littering the ground. Frankly it irritated me. It seemed to me the people there had become accustomed to the filth, to not caring. It’s quite a judgment to make, although an inappropriate one even if I am right. Simply driving through a street doesn’t equip me to be certain about what people care about or not. It’s easy to do though, isn’t it, and it oh how it feeds self-righteousness. If I remember right, Jesus’ heart broke when he encountered filth, when he walked through dilapidated neighborhoods filled with people who were so busy trying to survive caring seemed like a luxury. And who knows, just because Georgia Ave is so much cleaner does not mean the people are any better, they might simply be richer.

Jesus came because our world, people need redemption, regardless of what street they liveon. He has redeemed you and me not so we can pass by others and compare our neatness, our cleanliness, and our state of repair or disrepair. He redeemed us so we would be one with him and the Father, and we would engage with him in the work of redemption, looking at our world, places, and people with hope and the certainty that redemption is God’s will, lavishly so. I was reminded to care, to invest in, and to work for the redemption of all of mankind, wherever I am.

To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans