I first wrote about this topic in 2013.  It was never “published” in this blog.  A shorter version was published in a Facebook private group post.   Now, In light of the George Floyd murder, et. al. discussions, I am more certain than ever that people just don’t know where to look for real answers.  People are more rabid than ever about things they want to save… More than ever, the private fiefdoms of world savers appear more divisive and increasingly derisive.  Protests are one method to make a point.  Louder, and far more ineffective,  violence and rioting appear to be another.  At least that is my observation in my view from afar.  Let there be light.

And Facebook asks at the start of every post “What’s on your mind?”Usually it is my feeble attempt at humor. I hope that things I post will cause you to smile for a moment. I am not always successful, but I will continue to try.

Sometimes what I post is serious.  Hopefully it is thought provoking, and I am equally hopeful that it is not divisive.  I am not always successful, but I will continue to try. And occasionally, at the rarest of moments what is on my mind is life changing. Easter’s passing always gives me cause to remember 2 words. I think of them almost daily, certainly weekly, but now for this moment I think about them differently.

Salvation and Redemption.

I believe in the God who provided a Salvation experience. I believe that “we”—yes all of us– were created in the Image of God.  Everyone in that image is drawn to saving something.  Saving stuff is in the image of God.  Salvation is such a profound experience and is absolutely a prerequisite to experiencing a life with purpose.  Everyone participates in salvation in some way. Progressives want to save the world. Conservatives want to save the world. People of all shapes and sizes want to save whales, babies, forests, dogs, old buildings, oceans, the white race, the black culture, guns, freedom, Afghanistan, and on and on and on…. Most recently the chant is BLACK LIVES MATTER, or ALL LIVES MATTER.  The salvation experience surrounds us. I am not sure I have ever met anyone who does not want to save something. It is in our genetic code which is God’s image, so I think.  Many of us look for a savior for our cause(s).  And I hear the cries of the masses…. “Who will rescue us….how shall be saved”.

Many will say that great numbers of good people do not believe in God, and those folks are committed to saving people and things.  What about those people.  And I say to you thank you for fortifying my point.  Folks don’t have to believe in God to demonstrate the image of God.  People save things because they are predisposed to do so.

And so God sent His Son to pay the price.  Jesus was sent whether you believe it or not.  Jesus is the Redeemer.

Redemption is also a part of the Salvation process.  Redemption is a price paid.  Redemption is often overlooked in the salvation process.  The cost of saving things is so often ignored when people chant and protest to save their planet.  Like taking a ring to a pawn shop to get a loan, it will cost something to get the pawned item back.  The ring can only be redeemed when the price is paid to get it back.  After the price is paid, then and only then is the ring actually “saved and redeemed.”  Often a pawned ring will go unclaimed, it is never redeemed.  People scream to save their ______________!  You fill in the blank.  SAVING stuff has a price.  Can I pay the Redemption price?

It is here that I think humankind looks for an easy answer.  The search for cheap redemption is ongoing.   So few want to pay the price.   And the cost is often out of reach.  At least if we are going to save “everything.”

Some of you will remember the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”  Tom Hanks led a squad of soldiers given the task to save the only surviving brother of four, the others  brothers had perished on the battlefields in WWII.  The process of saving Private Ryan came with a high price.. many lives were lost to redeem the private.  This is the redemption story.

What price will you pay to save your target?  Have you considered the redemption price?

I believe in a God who provided a Redemption experience. I believe in Jesus Christ, The REDEEMER.  I am saddened if you don’t.  And I am sorry because I have done a really crappy job of expressing or displaying or relaying or portraying or inspiring or displaying His love.  I have done a really poor job of demonstrating God’s Salvation story.  “By this will all men know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  God’s love and redemption. His message of salvation. Jesus really does do a very good job of sharing His message. I on the other hand, and many of my fellow believers…..not always so much…

Most of you are practicing saviors at something. So knowing a Savior is not a new concept. I hope that you might get to know my Savior, and that I do a better “job” of representing the truly redemptive nature of God.