“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.”
Psalm 107:2-3
To know how God has loved us, we must understand the reality of redemption. And to understand redemption we must get honest about why we need redemption. The reason someone needs redemption is because they have been exiled.
Exile
The concept of exile serves as a symbol of separation from God, a state of being sent away from Him as a consequence of rebellion. This idea of being cut off from people is prevalent even in modern times. We’ve all experienced situations where we were once close to someone, but a wall arose, distancing us from each other. Sometimes, this separation occurs unintentionally, just as relationships change due to geographical distance. But other times, the separation is an indication of a breach in the relationship.
In Israel’s context, exile represented separation from God, reflecting humanity’s inherent separation from Him. Surprisingly (and yet not so surprisingly) we are born into this world cut off from God, banished from His presence. This creates the need for redemption.
Making Sense Of The Brokenness
Everyone in the world acknowledges that something is amiss. But many people attribute this sense of unrest to various factors such as education, politics, family structures, technology, diet, and lifestyle. While Christianity recognizes these factors, it addresses a more fundamental problem—a broken relationship with God. This Psalm asserts, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,” indicating that when God redeems a person, He rescues them from exile and restores fellowship with Him. To be redeemed is to be rescued from a life disconnected from God. And this reveals God’s love in a profound way.
Love Through Redemption
Redemption comprises two essential components—rescue and ransom. When we are redeemed, we are saved, but it comes at a cost. When we are redeemed, we are set free, but it comes at a price. But what displays God’s love in our redemption is that He paid the cost even though we weren’t worthy of it.
We Are Not Private Ryan
Consider the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” where a group is sent to rescue Private Ryan during World War II. The justification for this mission is clear because he had lost three brothers in the war. Rescuing him and bringing him home feels like the right thing to do. However, when God rescues us from exile and brings us back into His presence, it demonstrates His great love because He redeems us even though we aren’t a worthy cause.
The ransom, the cost, the price for our redemption was the death and resurrection of Jesus. Romans 5:8 emphasizes this, stating, “… but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This demonstrates the love of God because Jesus was willing to pay the cost for our redemption while we were still in our sinful state. And then Ephesians 2:4-5 states, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” God comes to us right in the middle of our spiritual deadness and makes us alive in Christ, even when we are His enemies.
This reveals God’s great love because both components of our redemption occur while we are still dead in our sins. The ransom price was paid for us while we were dead in our sins, and the rescue was powerfully accomplished while we were dead in our sins. This means that God is our redeemer from start to finish and this means that redemption displays the depth of God’s love.
What Now?
You may be unsure about Christianity, but the Bible teaches that all of us are born in exile, separated from God and in need of redemption. When God rescues us, He does it while we are dead in our sins, His enemies, and having never done any good deeds in our lives. The redeemed should proclaim the enduring love of the Lord and thank God for His redeeming love, recognizing that it flows to us on the basis of His faithfulness, not our deserving it. And anyone who is wondering how it is that God has loved them is invited to behold God, the redeemer of His enemies. And yet, there is more…
