Redemption

Article by Luanne Allen

There’s been a recurring theme over the last year or so that I’m learning a lot about. Redemption. And maybe, it’s been going on for much longer than that, and I just didn’t catch it. I mean, for goodness’ sake, I go to Christ the Redeemer Church, and have for over 9 1/2 years. Duh!

To redeem something, in my simplest terms, is to return something back to what it was intended to be, back to what God intended it to be. For example, I believe God blesses each and every one of his children with a number of gifts, and one of mine is tenacity. And those of you who know me know how difficult it is for me to use this term, but “bulldoggedness” is what I’m thinking of here. (As a Georgia Tech fan, it’s just hard to use that term, you know?) That ability to stick with something, to see it through, to continue to push forward because you know it’s what you’re supposed to be going after, a desire that God has placed within you, even when most people would give up. Tenacity is the gift, but stubbornness is how it gets bent by us and the world. Stubbornness is my refusal to give up and admit I was wrong, simply because I refuse to admit I could have made a mistake. Stubbornness is my inability to give up and go another direction, as the direction I’m going in could destroy me. Tenacity is the gift, but stubbornness is what many of us cling to because it lets me be right all the time. That’s just wrong – I believe God gifts us with tenacity for specific purposes, because what he’s called us to do is going to take the ability to push forward when it looks ridiculous. As long as we do that for his purpose, we’re headed in the right direction.

So stubbornness is what results in me when I refuse to listen to His direction. And yet, the gift of tenacity is still there. It can be redeemed, and that’s an act that God brings about in us. I think about a lot of things that have happened in my life – some roads that I have chosen to go down that I shouldn’t and some roads that I ended up on because of circumstances beyond my control – and what God intended for good got bent, whacked out, turned around – you get the idea. When my first marriage ended, I couldn’t even think that a man could have my best interests at heart. For so many reasons, I didn’t trust and while I looked pretty confident, that confidence was a very thin veneer. It took God’s healing, restoration and redemption for me to be ready to trust again. It took time, and me being willing to admit my part in where I was, and make the choices to forgive, to believe God’s truth about myself and move into what he had for me.

So that brings up a thought – What happens to my gifts when I have royally screwed up? I’ve totally blown it, gone in the complete wrong direction, and maybe have done that for many years? That means the gifts are gone and done, right? Not according to scripture, anyways. Romans 11:29 states clearly that “for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable”. I think sometimes I believe I’ve fouled things up badly enough that I’m off the hook – that God could never use me again, and that well, I can just continue to go along on my merry way and not be accountable for my gifts. Nope. No “get out of jail free” card on that one. I’m still accountable for what he has placed in me- and it is there to be used for his purposes, whether I’ve lost the way or drove headfirst off a cliff. Uh oh.

Over this past year or so, I have seen redemption and restoration in relationships. And I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that the redeemed and restored relationships are more precious now, and also a little tougher – they don’t get taken for granted and they take effort to maintain. This past Sunday afternoon, the “little Lyons” got together – the assorted cousins on my Dad’s side of the family that have kids all about the same age. Dad’s family wasn’t the “get together for every possible event” sort of folks – but we always got together on the Saturday after Christmas. I’ve written before about how much I enjoy the fact that our kids are going to grow up together, knowing each other – and we are making an effort for that to happen. It is tough to get together – we’re families with young kids with working parents, activities, commitments, church and all the other things that make up life. And yet, the concept of family is being redeemed.

And still, redemption continues to go on inside me, in how I see and think about life in general. I’ve seen the way I think about money and finances change and be redeemed. I’ve seen the way I approach and view marriage changed and redeemed. I’ve seen the way I view God change and be redeemed, too. Redemption is all about another chance, a fresh start, a do-over with God’s direction moving me back to what he intended with a repentant heart, and a willingness to hear what he’s telling me.

Life is good. God is faithful.

Luanne Allen is a member of Christ the Redeemer, Canton and regular contributer to the Diocese of the Mid-South news site.