“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
The letter of Paul to the church at Rome includes some of the most eloquent descriptions of Christian faith in the New Testament. Whenever I’ve turned to Romans, these passages of encouragement are reminders that however uncertain or fearful we may feel, or however frightening a situation may be, we are never separated from God’s loving care. These are not just cliches of “hang in there” or “cheer up, it could be worse,” but rather, statements of the foundational belief that God’s love has power beyond anything and everything.
We 21st Century, Western hemisphere people put much emphasis on independence and self-reliance. If we start to believe that our relationship with God occurs on our terms, however, we need to turn that attitude around. By letting go of the mindset that we’re the ones running the show and simply accepting the amazing gift of God’s grace, we are on the way to a right relationship with our heavenly Father. Faith is not the accomplishment of the individual. We are brought together by the truth that as all humans are sinners, so too all are redeemed and beloved children of God.
The Apostle Paul gets to the heart of Christian belief in the following verses: “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22b-24)
Paul reiterates the promise of justification by grace through grace in a variety of expressions, but all have the same message. This particular one includes the statement of redemption in Christ.
I had always assumed that redeemed and redemption meant the same as payment or purchase. The margin notes in the Lutheran Study Bible provided a new and thought-provoking perspective. The notes explain that “the word redemption refers to buying back someone who has been kidnapped or taken as a prisoner of war. It also refers to buying a slave in order to set the slave free.” The profound nature of this definition was almost more than I could process. I realized that time after time I’ve read or heard phrases such as “a lost and redeemed sinner” without understanding the true meaning of redemption. The concept of redeeming or paying a ransom for the purpose of setting a person free goes far beyond generosity – it is life-giving! How incredibly humbling it is to be saved so as to be set free, and how blessed we are to be able to freely share the good news of God’s never-ending love and faithfulness.
Journeying through Lent together,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers