Since you are called by a Father who judges impartially each person’s work, spend your time here with reverent fear as foreigners. For you know that you were not redeemed with perishable things, such as silver or gold, which you received from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:17-19
more than enough
Imagine someone paying off a small loan by handing over a property. This is the picture that the sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther once painted while contemplating the sacrifice of Christ. He wrote, “Just one drop of this innocent blood would suffice for the sins of the whole world.”
Just one drop. The blood of Jesus is infinitely valuable because He is the sinless Son of God. His sacrifice was more than enough to pay for every sin: yours, mine, and the world’s.
Peter reminds us that we were not redeemed with silver or gold. Those things eventually fade and lose value. We were redeemed by something far more valuable: the blood of Christ.
That truth changes the way we look at life. Our apology was not cheap. There was no let up in our defence. God loved us so much that he gave us the thing that was most precious to him, his own Son.
And yet this costly redemption is also our deepest comfort. Because Jesus paid the full price, you have nothing left to earn, and nothing left unpaid. Your sins are forgiven. You are God’s.
So, we live in a state of what Peter calls “reverential fear,” a fear that is not terror, but deep respect and gratitude for the grace we have received. We treasure the salvation won for us by Christ.
Eventually, when you realize how much it cost Jesus to redeem you, you begin to see how precious you really are to God.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for redeeming me with your precious blood. Help me to treasure your grace and live each day with gratitude for the salvation you have won for me. Amen.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved world wide.
