Redeemer - A Sail Boat

Isaiah 47:4 - "Our Redeemer-the Lord Almighty is His name-is the Holy One of Israel."
Job 19:25 - "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."

There is a story that some of us heard as children. A young boy made for himself a beautiful little sailboat, sanding, painting, and gluing each of its parts with great care. It became his favorite possession, and almost daily he went to sail it on the river near his home. One day a storm came up suddenly, the string on the boat broke, and the boat got away from him. He spent many days searching for the boat along the banks of the river, and he began to fear that he would never see it again.

Months later, his grandfather took him to town, and as they were poking around in a second-hand shop, the boy spotted a familiar-looking boat, high on one of the shelves, with a price tag attached to it. "Let me see that boat, " the little boy cried. "This is it, see, these are my initials! I carved them in the bottom! This is my boat!"

"I am sorry, son. I bought that boat from the man who brought it into the shop. If you want the boat, you will have to pay for it," said the shop keeper.

Sadly the boy left the shop. For the next few weeks he worked hard doing every odd job anyone would give him, carefully saving every penny. At last he had the money. He went back to the shop and redeemed for himself the boat he had made.

The seeming injustice of having to pay for something that was one's own in the first place is not pleasant. This is a perfect illustration of what it means to be redeemed. Christ our Creator made us and stamped us with his own image. Then we became separated from him. Christ our Redeemer bought back the right to own us by paying a price so awful we cannot comprehend it.

Over the next few days, The Christian community will be celebrating Easter. May we never forget that it is a celebration of redemption.

You know I love ya - Don