Redemption & Rejection

I have had a lot of thoughts in my head lately, so it's time I put a few down before they leak out. Have you ever read The Shack? It's by William P. Young, and it is quite a thought-provoking book. I haven't finished it yet, and I will caution you to take it with a grain of salt. Anyone's ideas on God are mind-opening and may in fact be the reason behind some very special one-on-one time between you & God. But they are not gospel, so don't take them as such. That said, I'll continue.

I have just finished up re-reading the Gospel of Mark, and was at somewhat of a loss as to where to go next. I've re-read John recently, and wanted to do Mark, and so it would follow that I'd finish the rest of the gospels. But that's not where I felt lead. I'm not a fan of lucky-dipping, but as I was flipping to Mark to re-cap, a line jumped out at me. I made a mental note to return to Ephesians, and I'm glad I did. God had a special message to share with me this morning, and I found it began in Ephesians 1. Verse 7 & 8 say "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

I don't know about you, but to me the word "redemption" has about the same effect as seeing a man in uniform. Maybe it's my family & husband's family's rich history in the military, but when I see a man in uniform, my heart swells, my throat closes up, and I find myself tearing up. I hate getting so emotional, but I absolutely cannot condition myself to respond any differently. There is something so beautiful and proud and self-sacrificing to see them, and it makes no difference whether they never leave our shores or face danger. To think of someone that willingly enters into a very difficult situation knowing full well that the day may come that they are shipped away from their home, family, their whole life, never to return...to enter into a service for an ungrateful people with full knowledge that he or she may one day soon be required to pay the ultimate price with no "thank you," no pomp & circumstance, maybe no recognition at all. How can you not be moved by such a sight?

When I hear the word "redeem," I feel very much the same sort of physically emotional reaction involuntarily triggered. But there is so much more that goes beyond feeling when I think on the action more than the word. Especially as it pertains to God's love. I re-read verses 7 & 8 and was astounded to see these words jump out and smack me in the face: "In Him we have redemption...forgiveness...that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." It immediately made me think of a passage in The Shack. Allow me to share it with you...

Says the God Trinity figure to Mack, the protagonist: "If you could only see how all of this ends and what we will achieve without the violation of one human will--then you would understand. One day you will."

"But the cost!" Mack staggered. "Look at the cost--all the pain, all the suffering, everything that is so terrible and evil. And look what it has cost you. Is it worth it?"

"Yes!" came the unanimous, joyful response of all three.

"But how can you say that?" Mack blurted. "It all sounds like the end justifies the means, that to get what you want you will go to any length, even if it costs the lives of billions of people."

"Mackenzie, we're not justifying it. We are redeeming it."

Oh, that I serve a God who not only is omniscient, always cognizant of the bigger picture, but that He is so willing to sacrifice His one and perfect Son to buy back the world that sold itself into slavery. Do you see what I am saying? I am blown away when people suggest that God, in His loving mercy, would do anything to harm or allow harm to come to His children. God, the perfect parent, the selfless lover, would never force a choice on us--He loves us too much. He wants us to choose to love Him. Understanding His omniscience, pardon the question--how could He have known that we would reject all the good, all the love, all the joy, all the freedom He offered us in favor of simply proving our own authority. I feel so like a child sometimes, in examining the Scriptures. Sometimes I feel it only illuminates how immature I've acted towards God! "The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?" (C.S. Lewis) A God that knew we would reject Him at every turn, still giving us every chance to reject Him? I feel as though I am just coming to understand why Christ was so insistent that He make such a free sacrifice. He entered into a service for an ungrateful people with full knowledge that he will one day soon be required to pay the ultimate price with no "thank you," no pomp & circumstance, no recognition at all. And what was He fighting for? What did He sacrifice His life for? So that we would never be forced to love Him. How could He have made such a selfless, non-self-serving decision? Again, C.S. Lewis has my answer: "He is not proud, He stoops to conquer, He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him, and come to Him because there is 'nothing better' now to be had."

To people who ask how a good God can possibly allow such bad things to happen, I say this. A loving parent who gives their child everything and shows them nothing nothing NOTHING but love and acceptance--is this parent responsible when the child rejects everything poured out on them and chooses, instead, to be filled with selfishness, dejection, hopelessness, influencing the child to eventually commit suicide? Of course not. It is a choice on that child's part to turn their back on everything good and embrace their own humanity, their own selfishness, their own death. What parent doesn't, in the hopes of beckoning the child back to a place of love and joy, allow the child to make their own choices? The parent puts aside all of their own desires for their child, all of their own plans for their child, and allows them to choose their own path. "Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself." Knowing we would irrevocably alter the perfection He had in store for us, God in his infinite love refused to take away our freedom. That is true love. As Ephesians 1:8 says, He lavished this love, freedom, sacrifice, and redemption on us, knowing and understanding full well (as an omniscient being) that we would reject and ruin it.

And where does that leave us? That suicidal child, full of remorse for what is lost, but unable to get it back, wanders lost and confused. They are so desperate for a solution that will get them out of the hopeless situation that their choices have brought them to. I have been there myself. I've questioned my existence, my purpose, the necessity of my being here. Were we only created to ruin that perfection?

"I wish I had never been born," she said. "What are we born for?"
"For infinite happiness," said the Spirit. "You can step out into it at any moment..."