Redemption

I’ve spent 15 hours attempting to write this post. This is not my normal. Why did I forecast in my last post the topic of this post?!? I’ve regretted that many times amidst a unique round of writer’s block. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that writing about redemption would be so challenging. Perhaps contributing to this block is that my understanding of God’s redemption story is an ever-growing reality—far from static. If I’d written this post 40 years ago, I would have said something like, “Redemption is Jesus Christ redeeming me from my sins for the purpose of enabling me to work out my salvation through a temple marriage, in which I would be eternally sealed to my earthly husband, enabling me to exalt into godhood in the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven where I would bear spirit children throughout eternity.” 

25 years ago I would have said that redemption is God loving me so much that He sent His Son to die for me so that, by trusting in His sacrifice, I may enter into relationship with Him and enjoy the gift of eternal life.

In the past few years, Lisa Sharon Harper’s book The Very Good Gospel has brought profound truths into the light about God’s redemptive story. Her work has introduced me to cultural and contextual nuances in the Biblical narrative which have opened my eyes to God’s bigger story and my role in His story as never before.  Since it took Lisa an entire book to paint the masterpiece, it’s no wonder capturing the essence of redemption in 500 words feels impossible. Even so, I will attempt to capture a morsel of God’s redemptive narrative here. So let’s go back to the beginning so we can taste the impact of the end of the story.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light.”

God’s word cut through the darkness, and created light. He placed boundaries on the darkness and birthed life and beauty and joy out of “a cesspool of despair.”

Then God created humans in His image and declared, “It is very good.” Harper explains,

Very good isn’t referring to the thing itself, but the Hebrews understood goodness to exist between things. The Hebrew word for very means forcefully, vehemently good. All of the relationships in creation were forcefully good...very goodness is about the overflowing wellness of all the relationships in creation.” Shalom pervaded every part of creation. 

To be made in the image of God is to be made with the call and capacity to exercise stewardship of the world. To limit or crush the image of God in people is to limit the capacity of those people to exercise dominion and steward the world. When Adam and Eve’s vision of God went askew and they no longer saw Him as the good, loving God whose provision is abundant, they sinned and took control and shame, power struggle, chaos and oppression infiltrated all of creation.

REORIENTATION

I used to believe that sin was breaking God’s moral law. The more I study the Bible and become acquainted with God and His redemptive love story, I am understanding sin to be breaking God’s law of love. As Harper says, “Sin is about anything we do that breaks one of the relationships God declared as very good in the beginning.” God is relational and is all about the very goodness of relationships.

Redemption is God’s never-giving-up on restoring creation to His original design until He reestablishes His rule once-for-all in the New Heaven and New Earth. Redemption is God the Father giving God the Son over to the Kingdom of this age in order to defeat evil on the cross and recapture His beloved creation. Redemption is God pulling out all of the stops to reveal Himself to us, in hopes of drawing His beloved image-bearers into His Kingdom of love. Redemption is God’s determination to restore His imprint of love upon His image-bearers and restore His overwhelming wellness to every relationship in creation. This is just a taste of what we have to look forward to…

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. —Revelation 22:2-5

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.—Rev. 22:17

I’d love to hear your redemption story. Where is God restoring His very goodness in your life?