i am yours; save me, for i have sought your precepts. [psalm 119:94]
our lives do not belong to us. such an easy concept to say, and then turn and live however we want, chasing desires, lusting after all the world has to offer, and claiming the rewards of heaven when we’re done living life.
but in Christ, God desires so much more for his children. he knows what will satisfy us. he wants to show us his glory. he wants to be the all satisfying joy inexpressible that fills us to the brim. he wants to cast out fear with his perfect steadfast love. he wants to save us from the uttermost darkness, and bring us into his marvelous light.
and so he bought us. he owns us. and his children don’t come without great cost. he sacrificed his willing and beloved only Son, sending him humbly to this earth, to live the perfect life that we could not live, and die a perfect death that we deserved to die, that we might taste and see that he is good. we have been purchased, ransomed, redeemed, by the blood of the lamb.
for you were bought with a price. [1 corinthians 6:20, 7:23]
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. [1 peter 1:18-19]
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us [galatians 3:13]
pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. [acts 20:28]
these are just a few examples of the great cost our God paid to give us fullness of joy in his presence. so when we look at our lives, our relationships, our day to day activities, the things that fill our lives, we have to ask ourselves… does this belong to the Lord?
Father, save me from myself. my soul so often clings to the dust. my flesh clings to the things here in your beautiful world you made. but my soul longs for you. for i am yours. let me live like a purchased child of the King! take all that i am. because all i have is Christ. amen.
~ arwen eastman