My entire identity is tied up in the idea that redemption is a continual process that is happening here, now.
God created something good, full of potential and life, which was spoiled by mankind’s selfish desires. So, God set about arranging a way to correct the wreckage, to bring about redemption for all of creation. This redemption came in the form of a man with no earthly father. His name was Yeshua (most of us call Him Jesus). He lived a life that was truly good, through and through. He loved unabashedly and made Himself vulnerable, even accessible to the least respected members of society. He was a rabbi, a builder, a son, a teacher, a prophet. He was the Son of Man. He was the Son of God. He claimed to be so.
The society He walked around in couldn’t handle His claims. So, they murdered Him under the guise of capital punishment. They treated Him like a murderer or a thief. They beat Him and said He was worthless and killed Him in the most agonizing fashion they could invent.
Don’t be fooled. Had He wanted to, He could have turned his captors into dust. He could have done it with a word. But, He didn’t. He endured great suffering as a reward for His perfect life for the same reason that He came in the first place; the same reason His friends and family were powerless to prevent His execution. He did it because we (everybody) were stuck in our selfish ways of thinking. We were stuck trying to pervert creation into something we could use for some kind of profit. We were sinners. We were cursed for disobedience. Yet, He loved us. He loved us while we couldn’t stand Him. So, He died for us.
Three days later, He came back from the dead and told His friends. His death and resurrection acted as a universal glue. What was once broken into chaos could now be repaired, the price paid. The anguished groaning of broken creation could be soothed. Salvation had come.
Yeshua came to save everything. I mean, He came to save humanity, make it possible for us to get to know God again. But, that’s not all. The Messiah (Christ, the Annointed One) came to redeem all of creation, fix everything. When we are able to forgive, we are depending on this, the future setting right of all things.
This truth is what drives me: though there is still brokenness in the world, though there is pain and hatred, Yeshua is enough to fix it. It’s a beautiful thought.
Yeshua’s sacrifice and His love were enough to allow those of us who follow Him to help bring peace back to creation, to make creation new. This goal, bringing peace here, is mine. It is who I am and what I am doing. My entire being is tied up in the idea that redemption is a continual process that is happening here, now.
-Curtis Hefner
Revealed Wonders 