A Whole Lot More Than Forgiveness
When the Bible tells us that Christ came to “redeem mankind” it offers a whole lot more than forgiveness. To simply forgive a broken man is like telling someone running a marathon, “It’s okay that you’ve broken your leg. I won’t hold that against you. Now finish the race.” That would be cruel, to leave him disabled that way. No, there is much more to our redemption. The core of Christ’s mission is foretold in Isaiah 61:The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (v. 1)The Messiah will come, he says, to bind up and heal, to release and set free. What? Your heart. Christ comes to restore and release you, your soul, the true you. This is the central passage in the entire Bible about Jesus, the one he chooses to quote about himself when he steps into the spotlight in Luke 4 and announces his arrival. So take him at his word—ask him in to heal all the broken places within you and unite them into one whole and healed heart. Ask him to release you from all bondage and captivity, as he promised to do. As George MacDonald prayed, “Gather my broken fragments to a whole . . . Let mine be a merry, all-receiving heart, but make it a whole, with light in every part.” But you can’t do this at a distance; you can’t ask Christ to come into your wound while you remain far from it. You have to go there with him.
( John Eldredge, writer - Wild at Heart)
Ransomed Heart is a small ministry devoted to a big message.That message is the treasure of the Christian Gospel--not the tired story of church attendance and good manners, but rather the love story of all ages, set in the midst of fierce battle. As Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10). After all, it is life we are after, each one of us. And it is life God offers.But this message has been lost and shrouded by religion. We are committed to helping others rediscover its beauty and power. For this message is able to set men and women free to live from the heart as God's intimate allies. As St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." That's what we are devoted to--seeing men and women come fully alive as the image-bearers of a breathtaking God.
Excellent article from Ransomed Heart!
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