From my 70's childhood, I remember "S&H Greenstamps". As memory serves, they would give you these little green stamps (think: postage stamps) when you made a purchase at the grocery store. Some of the 'fancier' stores had little machines that would spit out the stamps automatically, but alas... ours were just handed to us from a drawer by the cashier. The larger the purchase, the more stamps you received. You saved these up by pasting them into a special book, a page at a time, until you filled the book. This 'lick & stick' project fell to me... and I thought it was a great privilege.
But, the best thing about the Greenstamps was... redemption! After you saved up a sufficient number of books, you could take them to a special store called the Redemption Center. We had one in our hometown, making this a very tangible experience for me. You could take in your books & trade them for some pretty good stuff! For some reason, I remember the kitchen items the most - mixers, blenders, popcorn poppers, etc. I'm sure they had kid items... but I think I was impressed that you could actually trade in these books for important items (i.e. grown-up stuff!!) The stamps themselves, as much as I might have enjoyed being in charge of them, were really worthless of their own accord. There at the Redemption Center... they were in the business of taking in that which was worthless and giving out valuable things in return.
So... that's the image in my mind when I use the word "redeem". A vivid set of memories brings this idea to life for me. I can recall clearly my mom's wallet, which usually had a strip of stamps tucked inside... or one or two loose stamps in with the coins. See, definitely not 'churchy'... but I think that's what makes it so real to me. When I hear Jesus described as 'Redeemer'... it connects with me. Not in a complicated, sophisticated, or lofty way... but in a down-to-earth way that touches that place where fond memories reside. In other words, it's not just a religious precept... I genuinely "get it".
And, this was what I hoped to convey the other day... Yes, He is our Redeemer at the highest level... allowing us to trade our death for His Eternal Life. Please understand, it all starts there.
But... He also acts as Redeemer in other ways, as well. What about those 'little books' within your lifestory that you wish weren't there? Maybe it's a situation, a hurt, a sin... something that you rather would *not* exist at all... something that you wish could be forgotten altogether. The honest truth is, you probably will never forget it. But, what if... it could be redeemed? What if you could take this worthless thing & trade it in for something of value... something truly good? Would you do it?
The good news is... you can! Just like we traded in our little bits of worthless paper and received something desirable, something valuable.... so can you! Jesus is in the business of redeeming all kinds of things that, on their own, are truly worthless. Imagine that for a moment... something that brings layers of pain & guilt for you... something that you can't forget, no matter how hard you try. But, can you imagine 'turning it in'? Giving it away & receiving something like peace... contentment... even joy? I've seen it happen and it has a beauty that is hard to describe.
There are millions of examples, I suppose, of how this has happened in people's lives. Each one a little different... each one custom made to the individual! But, perhaps none of them as truly meaningful in your heart as the one you experience yourself. So, if there is something like that in your life today... why not turn it in for redemption? You may be surprised at it's value!
" (He) redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion..." (Psalm 103:4)
(for the record... I borrowed the above pic from an ebay auction... go make a bid if you're interested in owning a bit of 70's memorabilia)
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