By Tammy L. Hensel
". . . knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ."—1 Peter 1:18-19
As a child I loved collecting trading stamps to take to the redemption store. I recall the wonder of seeing the stamps magically emerge from the cash register at the grocery store. Then I carefully pasted them into the special books, always counting ahead to see how many more I had to fill before I could "redeem" them for something precious.
Trading stamps went out of vogue around 1980, the year I married. At a bridal shower all of my female relatives gave me their saved up stamps to redeem before our local store closed down. Boy, did I feel rich! I traded them for dishes, pots and pans, and many other items to help us set up housekeeping. The best thing I got was a canister vacuum cleaner, which I still use to today, more than 30 years later!
Yet, the wonder I felt as a child about trading stamps pales significantly compared to the awestruck wonder I feel when I consider the eternal redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that Jesus redeemed us with His own precious blood. Through His sacrifice He paid the penalty for my sin. He liberated me from my bondage to sin and empowered me with His Holy Spirit.
The items I got with my trading stamps were made with purpose. But as long as they sat in the store unredeemed they were unable to fulfill that purpose. It is the same with mankind. God created us to love, worship, and serve Him. The only way we can do that is to embrace the precious gift of redemption.
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Video: Another great Gaither praise video of an awesome hymn.
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