The Hope of Redemption… Hello weekend readers. I have been musing on the word ‘redemption’ for quite a while. The word is a noun meaning: an act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed; deliverance; rescue. The ‘being part’ is the verb, the action of being redeemed, delivered or rescued. After reading this from Webster’s dictionary I could only think of the 3-in-one—the Holy Trinity, as the definition of the verb for redemption. But the more I thought about this, I realized that through that power we are also gathered into the verb in helping others seeking redemption.

In Galatians, the Apostle Paul urges us in playing a role in redemption saying: “May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.” [Galatians 6:9-10 The Voice Translation]

Our world is so full of suffering we wonder if we can help at all. Early this week a couple that were camping here came up to the booth to share about their camper next door. They had sat together around a campfire and he just opened up to them. His wife died 3 weeks ago, his son won’t talk to him, and so much more. They feared for him because for the next 3 days he never left his trailer. His suffering was leading him to drink as well. Later that day he did go out and when he stopped at the booth, we had a good discussion. He said “Cyndy, is it true that loneliness can kill you?” Then he cried and we prayed and I told him to hang on to God even though at that moment he felt God had abandoned him. When he left the next day, he stopped and gave me a cookie in a heart-shape and said it was such a great help to talk and pray since he hadn’t prayed for months. I waved him good-bye and then I sat and cried but my tears were ones of hope for him as he was ready for redemption.

I know we can’t fix the world, but we can do something! A few weeks ago, we had a family that had been refugees for 14 years. I learned this when I saw their bumper-sticker that said “refugees can be friends if we practice love.” Without knowing, I actually said those words out-loud. And that’s when the lady put out her hand and took mine and I looked into her beautiful brown eyes and saw the suffering but her face was smiling. She shared a glimpse of their lives and the loss of their son to a militant gang and my heart cried inside of me. But their faith words: “we knew America could help us when no one else cared” were words that put an arrow through my heart.

How easy is it to embrace “we can’t fix the world anyway” and we do nothing at all. Yet, if we took a long look in the mirror, we have all been refugees in many ways. We have suffered, we have run for our lives, we have sat and cried and screamed in our suffering, looking for the redemption of hope. When it doesn’t come, we fall into more crises. We have forgotten that redemption does NOT depend on us in the first place! That job is our Savior and Lord. He came to rescue us and restore us and this fallen world. Yet we wonder in our mixed-up world “is He still doing that?” There is so much suffering, pain, and loss.

My friend, Lysa TerKeurst says “I can’t end wars, but I can befriend families displaced by them. I can’t eradicate poverty, but I can find ways to be generous and kind. I can’t save anyone from their sins but I can tell them about Jesus. Where there is brokenness, the gospel offers healing. Where there is pain, the gospel offers comfort. Where there is oppression, the gospel offers deliverance. Where there is despair, the gospel offers joy.”

Let’s remember the hope of the gospel that gives us confidence and the purpose to be part of God’s plan of redemption for all of his creation. Even if it looks bleak out there, don’t ever think for one moment Jesus has left us to our own destruction. The good news is that Jesus is determined to finish the good work He started and welcomes us into that work. Instead of looking at the sobering statistics and problems, live your faith by stepping in and becoming someone’s HOPE for redemption. AMEN.