Redemption

Many times we think of redemption, at least from a Christian worldview, as what God did and does for us.  And that is redemption.  But that is not all that redemption is.  That is one specific form of or kind of redemption.  God restores us to relationship with him by offering us forgiveness of sin through Jesus' atoning death and resurrection.  

Today I want to think about our part in redemption and I'm going to take it out of the context of sin and broken relationship with God.  I believe God created each of us for a purpose.  I also believe that everything in my life is there for a purpose.  When something in my life is out of line with it's purpose it is in need of redemption.  The process of redemption then is to identify the purpose, identify its current condition, and then to bring it in line with it's purpose.

Here's an example that those who know me well at least should be able to laugh a little about - my car.  For most of my life my car has been a storage space for a variety of things including trash and old things that need to be thrown out but haven't been yet.  And if that's the purpose of my car then I spent way too much money on it.  :)  So let's re-think this for a moment.

The purpose of my car is to provide a clean, comfortable space that makes traveling enjoyable for myself and any guests I may invite into that space.  At the time I started this process of redeeming my car lets just say my car was something less than the stated purpose.  So redemption, was taking my car from the condition it was in to a condition that now fulfills its purpose - bringing my car into line with what it's supposed to be.  Is my car perfect?  No.  Is it clean?  Most of the time and I'm committed to not letting it be dirty for long.  Would I be embarrassed to offer someone a ride?  No.  And that's the difference.

So what does that have to do with losing weight, getting in shape and being healthy?  Is being overweight a sin?  Not necessarily.  I believe God desires for his children to be healthy.  Do we all need to be athletes?  Absolutely not.  Does health look the same for everyone?  No way.  Are some people predisposed to obesity and weight gain?  Maybe - I'm not a doctor so won't even try to answer that exclusively. 

I actually started looking at this as how I view and treat food.  I needed to redeem my meal times.  Food was either an afterthought or an end goal for me.  What's for supper tonight?  I don't know.  What will taste great or make me feel good?  There's nothing wrong with great tasting food - it's still my preference.  The difference is the purpose of that food and that meal time.  The food is to provide me with fuel so I can live the life I want and God wants me to live.  Since viewing it as fuel I now check the ingredients to make sure it is good fuel.  I haven't arrived yet but I am working to also make my meal times intentional times of communing with God and times of personal reflection.  So the time I spend eating is now becoming a holy time and a sacred time. 

I have a lot of other things I am now working on to go through this same process with as well - identifying their purpose, their current state, and then bringing them in line with their purpose.  I am working to redeem the physical spaces in my life and my time.  As I do this God is continuing to bring me in line with his purpose for me which means I continue to be redeemed.  The result?

Less of me.  More of Him.

-Eric