No longer slaves

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 says, “For it is Christ’s love that fuels our passion and holds us tightly,  because we are convinced that he has given his life for all of us. This means all died with him, so that those who live  should no longer live self-absorbed lives but lives that are poured out for him—the one who died for us and now lives again. So, from now on, we refuse to evaluate people merely by their outward appearances. For that’s how we once viewed the Anointed One, but no longer do we see him with limited human insight. Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished.  Behold, everything is fresh and new.”

We have been looking at the cross of Christ. In the last few weeks, we have considered how the cross was surrender. This week we will be looking at another aspect of the cross. Redemption. We have been redeemed and made new in Christ. The old is gone. Two weeks ago we talked about letting go of the past, the good, the bad and the ugly and embracing Christ.

We were once slaves to sin and incapable of saving ourselves, so Jesus came and died in our place and bought our freedom. Psalms 130:7-8 says, “O Israel, keep hoping, keep trusting, and keep waiting on the Lord, for he is tender hearted, kind, and forgiving. He has a thousand ways to set you free! He himself will redeem you; he will ransom you from the cruel slavery of your sins!” Romans 3:24 says, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

It is important that we know this because the enemy wants to keep us trapped in our past. He holds the past over our heads and we get stuck in who we used to be instead of stepping into who God has called us to be. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are no longer defined by our past. We are not defined by what we did or didn’t do. We are defined by Christ and His righteousness. We find our value and our worth in Him.

How can we continue to live as slaves when the Creator of the whole universe said we were worth dying for and did indeed actually die for us so we could be His? God in His infinite wisdom, who created everything that exists looked at us humans, flaws, imperfections and all and said, “I want to have a relationship with them. I want to be their Father and take care of them and provide for them. I want them to get to know Me and allow themselves to be known by Me.”

I mean He already knows everything there is to know about us, but it gives Him pleasure when we invite Him in. The more I walk with Him the more I realise that He sees me and understands me in ways I cannot even express. He knows my deepest emotions that I have no words for and my deepest thoughts that I cannot articulate with any real clarity and He meets me in those places and brings me in to where He is.

Redemption is an open invitation to a relationship with our wonderful Father! I am glad I was born in this era where we get to have a direct one on one relationship with God where He is not only Immanuel (God with us) but we have Holy Spirit indwelling and living in us! That is one of the greatest mysteries of our Christian walk. That we have God living on the inside of us. What a wonderful blessing!

We have been redeemed. We are no longer slaves but we are forgiven and we have been set free! All because of the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus. We are the sole beneficiaries of what Jesus did on the cross. You ever think of that? God is all sufficient which means He lacks nothing and has no need for anything. Anything He needs is in Himself. Yet He looked at us with love and decided He would rather die a gruesome death on the cross than live without us. If that isn’t love, I do not know what is.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.