the life of the redeemed

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians 2:1-3

 What does redemption mean to the ones who walk according to His purposes? And what does a life separate from Him look like?

These are 2 questions I used to find myself asking often. Now that I am one of the redeemed, a chosen and holy one, I can truly say that redemption is the greatest gift anyone can ever receive.

Without Christ, without the transforming life He instills in us, life is meaningless. We are all sinners, following our own values, our own beliefs, our own system of right and wrong. We make up what we will and will not allow, we decide what is acceptable for our life. This is a system set forth by the prince of the power of the air—and do you know who that prince is? It is Satan, which means that before accepting Christ we walk according to his purposes. This reality is one that some cannot accept. They refuse to believe that if they are not walking according to God’s purposes they are somehow walking with Satan—and unfortunately without Christ they cannot see the truth within His Word. I don’t mean to ever say that someone is somehow less of a person because they are not living the same life that I am, but I do always mean to portray the truth and the truth is—without Jesus there is no life.

I can truly say that before I found Christ I absolutely walked as one of this world. I wanted to be like the world, I wanted to have the “American dream” as anyone else. It took the absolute transforming, regenerating love of Jesus Christ to open my eyes to my disobedience. Now, I do not want to be “one of the world”, I want to be one of the heavnlies, one whose aim is to always walk with God.

Will I do this? Absolutely not. I am a sinner living in a fleshly body. But, as a redeemed sinner, I long to change my previous ways. I long to be held accountable for my actions, I long to learn His ways. The life of someone who has decided to give up this life for the eternal one looks much different than one who hasn’t.

And it should.

We cannot walk a completely different path and expect to fit in in this world. This world hates God. This world has no use for God. This world is the one who hung His Son on a cross because they didn’t want Him—it’s the same world that will persecute anyone who walks with Him now. The reality is hard to swallow sometimes, but it is one that I choose because this temporal world isn’t the end for me, it’s my eternity in heaven that is my focus in life. That eternal life, it is the one that has been placed within my heart and that is the one that shapes my being today.  

I give thanks to God the Father for the gift of His Son. For loving us so much, that He sent His Son to die for all of our many sins. For those that don’t’ believe they are sinners, there is no need for this Man they called Jesus. But, we are so unworthy, each of us, and we each just as equally need Him! He is the One in which my heart longs, and the One in which my soul yearns for!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever, believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

It’s the everlasting life that I want, not just this world with its sin, its disobedience and deserved wrath. It’s the beautiful, lovely, amazing life He promises in Heaven!