Words

Over winter break, the word redemption was used. Particularly in the context of a kinsmen redeemer exemplified through the relationship between Boaz and Ruth. While we were sharing about instances of God's redemptive work in our lives, I realized that I do not really know what that word even means. In fact, God convicted me of my ignorant use of 'Christian' catch phrases. I have my conceptions of certain words and their meanings, however, do I really know what God intended when he placed them in the Bible? Honestly, there probably exists some linguistic school of thought that has some explanation or theory explaining the formation of meaning behind words. Probably goes along the lines about how the exact same word can have different meanings to different people. So, here is what redemption means to me. Basically, I have broken redemption into three categories of meaning: Representation, Ransom, and Restoration.

Representation.
The redeemer acts as a representative for a person who otherwise would be helpless.

Basically, the Old testament function of a kinsman redeemer was to free a relative from slavery, enact justice to a crime committed on that relative, or provide protection to the dead relative's wife. Basically, one aspect of the redemptive process is to guarantee the rights of an individual who, otherwise, had no power to claim their rights by themselves. This aspect of redemption was an obligation that God commanded the people of Israel to exhibit. In other words, acting as a redemptive representative is our responsibility as part of the body of Christ. Redemption is a call of duty. Redemption happens when individuals stand-up for the rights of marginalized individuals in society. Redemption also happens when judges promote due justice in the courts. They are acting as redeemers for the victims who otherwise would be helpless to enact justice. On a similar note, lawyers act as redeemers to innocent individuals who know not their legal rights in the court system.
In many ways, God is the ultimate redeemer. He acts as the fair judge who enacts ultimate justice on sins in due process. God also acts as an advocate. Jesus acts as our representative who has full natures of both God and man. He not only knows the full character of God, Jesus also knows the full character of human nature. He is the one that bridges the gap between Man and the creator, and stands as a our legal consul in the courtroom of God's throne. The Holy Spirit also acts as an intercessor between God and Man. In many ways, God's redemptive process occurs when God does something in our life that we alone could never do.

Ransom.
The redeemer pays a ransom in exchange for a person who otherwise has no means to pay.

The act of redemption is not cheap. The kinsmen redeemer must buy the freedom of his relative or risk pain and suffering in order to redeem that relative. In other words, the redemptive process is an exchange. The redeemer must give something in order to get something back, and what they get may not even be comparable in value to the thing they exchanged. This exchange may come in the form of money, time, trust, and effort. Individuals must exchange money to redeem a hostage. A spouse must invest loads of time and energy into their counter-parts to redeem them from countless times of unfaithfulness and failure. Likewise, parents exchange loads of time and trust to redeem a child from disobedience.
The most obvious example of God paying a redemptive ransom appears through the payment of Jesus Christ. Jesus gave up everything in order to act as a ransom for us. We were under the bondage of sin and God's judgment hung over our heads. There was no means for paying our own way out. Jesus, acting as the ransom, set us free by shamefully hanging on a tree. There exists no greater redemption than that of Christ's ransom. God's redemptive work also happens everyday. Just like a husband or wife to an unfaithful spouse or a parent to a disobedient child, God patiently invests time, love, and trust into a constantly unfaithful creation. God graciously withholds his demand for judgment on our sinful deeds so that those who are perishing may be saved. Admittedly, thinking of an infinite God having to sacrifice anything is quite hard to grasp. However, an infinite God has an infinite desire for justice, imagine how hard holding back infinite justice would be. This is not to say that God has struggles with his own nature. Instead, I believe that God makes sacrifices (I do not even really know what this word means) for his own beloved children everyday.

Restoration.
The redeemer restores a person's value and true worth.

Ultimately, redemption is a change of status. Whether from slave to free, widow to wife, victimized to empowered, redemption is a restoration to an initial state. This restoration occurs through representative and costly redemption.

An analogy would be that of an old beat up copper pitcher one would find in an antique store. The pitcher has long gone unused, crusted over, dull, and dented. Well, a certain person finds this old pitcher, closely inspects the find, and decides to purchase the beat up old thing. He smoothes out the dents, polishes the metal to a bright glistening glow and proudly displays the pitcher during his many dinner parties. He serves lemonade with the pitcher and places this precious work of art as a centerpiece to everything else on the table. He tenderly cleans the restored and beautiful pitcher and stores it in a china cabinet. God restores our old beat up, sinful selves into a precious, clean self. This self is the way God originally intended us to be. This self is the true worth that God sees in us through our blemishes.

In the beginning, God created man and woman and declared his creation good. He placed intrinsic value to his precious creation. However, after the fall, we became dull, dented, and crusted over. We depreciated our worth and became as useless as garbage. God saw past our sins and flaws. He redeems us through his son, Jesus Christ, to restore value, worth, and functionality. Everyday is a process of restoration; everyday we are redeemed and called to redeem others.

God stands as our advocate, our ransom, and our restoration. He stands as our redeemer. Hopefully, I will realize and take notice of God's constant redemption and be His vessel of redemption for other people.