I like to buy music. Probably too much. But I like it. I like finding new music to listen to while I drive to work, while I write articles at work, if I’m just lounging around my apartment.
The newest music I bought was the album If I Never Speak Again by Hearts Like Lions. Before I bought the album, I listened through it on Spotify, considered music from their past (like their excellent EP These Hands) and weighed up how much I would listen to it. Considering those considerations, I bought it.
Worth it so far.
The question this leads me to is this: God paid for me. He put a lot of thought into it. Am I responding to that well?
Heavy.
It’s not a question in my mind that God paid the highest price for me. His Son died.
“But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” – Psalm 49:15
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:2
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10
But what am I doing with that payment? God paid His Son to set me free from the eternal bondage of sin. There’s two ways I need to learn how to respond, two ways I need to deal with this better.
First, I need to know that I am loved and forgiven.
I can’t let myself continue to be burdened with my guilt and sinfulness. I need to recognize it, but not at the expense of remembering God loves me and cares for me. My sin sucks the joy out of me, yes, but it doesn’t take away the fact that He’s saved me from its eternal consequences. That is the most joyful and wonderful part of being paid for.
But that’s not it.
Second, I need to act like I’ve been paid for.
Just like Hearts Like Lions’ album is serving the purpose it’s been bought for right now, I need to serve the purpose I’ve been bought for.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What am I doing with the body and the life God bought for me, what He bought from the depths of sin and Sheol? Am I making wise decisions? Am I fighting sin with all that I’ve got?
Far too often, the answer to those questions is no.
So asking the question “What does it mean to be that God paid for me?” can be both an encouragement and a challenge. It can remind us of our blessed position before God, but also our call to be more for Him.
By A Ransomed Soul 