During high school I overheard a conversation between two girls in my class. It was our sophomore year and for most of us, the time we officially got our driver’s licenses. At sixteen years of age, it is obviously the most important thing in the world. My two classmates were discussing another girl who had totaled her car three weeks after receiving her driver’s license. What was disgusting to my classmates was the fact that even though the girl had completely demolished her car in the accident, her parents bought her a brand new car to replace her totaled one – which happened to be a nicer car. As my two classmates continued to discuss the situation, I too was shocked. Why would her parents buy her a brand new car even though she wrecked her first one? Why would they trust her with an even nicer car if she already crashed within three weeks? Does she really deserve one?
It seemed crazy that the girl received something even better than before after completely messing up.
This story always reminds me of my own brokenness. There are so many times in my life where I had been given something amazing, but ended up destroying it. I have easily made mistakes and gotten myself into bad situations.
But…
I have also experienced the joy and deep satisfaction of redemption.
Redemption is defined as an act of buying something back, or paying a price to return something to your possession; an act of recovery. Not only has God forgiven me of my faults and shortcomings, but He sent His Son to pay the ultimate price, so that I may be recovered and restored. He has taken my mistakes and used them for His glory. He has taken something that I destroyed and replaced it with something even better. We could never possibly sin our way out of forgiveness and grace.
“Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:4-8
John Brown University requires all first year students to take a Gateway Seminar course. I signed up for a course called: Engaging a Broken World: Community Development in Guatemala and Central America. During our class we discussed Creation, Fall, and Redemption and gained our own ideas of a Christian worldview. We focused on the brokenness of Guatemala and the evidence of God’s redemption coursing through the streets of the city. It truly opened my eyes and helped me see the beauty through the brokenness.
On the outskirts of Guatemala City lies a massive dump. The dump has a population of 11,000 who live and work in the dump. 6,000 out of the 11,000 are children. Every day the workers search for anything they can use to refurbish and sell on the streets of Guatemala.
*images via Google*
Redemption can be seen in the dump of Guatemala City. The workers take something that is dirty, broken, and forgotten, and create something whole and new. I am thankful that God gathers me up from ashes, heals all of my cracks and wounds, and creates something beautiful out of my brokenness.
Reparando means to repair.
Reparando is also the title of a documentary on Guatemala’s struggle to repair itself and its people. The documentary shows the lives of those who have experienced redemption in a place where hope is easily forgotten. If you are interested in gaining a new perspective on God’s beautiful redemption, I highly recommend watching this film. Check out the trailer here:
God’s grace and redemption is deep and wide. His love for us is unfathomable. I’m thankful that He has repaired my life and continues to mold and shape me. I am challenged to find the simplest beauty in the people and things that surround me. It is our job to see those around us the way God created them to be, not view them based on their mistakes and failures. I pray that I will view others using a perspective of redemption and always show grace and mercy to those around me. Although we live in a broken world, Christ’s redemption is all around us. May we walk in the truth of freedom of His beautiful redemption.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
The Expedition 