“And so it seems that the very word redeemed needs its own personal redemption.”- Matt Bays
As Matt Bays concludes Chapter 1 of Finding God in the Ruins, he expresses his belief that redemption has been misunderstood. Pastor Bays offers his own personal take on how modern Christianity has defined the term:
Redemption (n). A state of existence in which the faithful to God receive what they expect to receive out of life (and out of God), and what ails them is converted into something fresh and new (getting the desires of one’s heart).
Matt emphasizes that when redemption is defined this way, it becomes hard to approach God, unless it is in the context of getting what we want. This then leads either to disillusionment with God or a petty and shallow faith experience. We may feel God owes us- that because we are chosen, He should deliver.
Furthermore, we may equate the word redeemed with the removal of pain. We envision whatever is broken in our lives getting fixed within a specified time frame. To correctly understand redemption, Matt differentiates between the unredeemed and the redeemed.
The unredeemed
a. those whose lives have been neither helped not healed by the usual remedies
b. have experienced great loss and continue to experience the residual pain of despair
c. believe their promise of redemption seems far away from the here and now
d. think their pain isn’t going away soon- if ever
The redeemed
a. acknowledge the harsh reality of their broken story- to the best of their ability
b. accept that their pain does not define them
c. have somehow managed to find God in the ruins
d. have the capacity to be reasonably happy despite their pain and allow God to use their brokenness for good
Matt concludes:
“But redemption will always be the most powerful when we can trace God’s hand along the way. . . . Looking back to see where God’s hands have pushed the clay of brokenness into something we never thought it could become is truly redemptive.”
Today’s question: Do you currently fit in with the unredeemed or the redeemed? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A tiny dirt road”
