forgiveness of sins, accorfing to the riched of His grace."
Ephesian 1 : 7
During the years when slavery was legal in the United States, a gentleman happened upon a slave-bidding in a crowed street. The man paused to observe the activities. As he watched from the edge of the crowd, he saw one slave after another led onto a platform, their arms and legs shackled with ropes as if they were animals.
Displayed before the jeering crowd, they were auctioned off, one by one. Some onlookers would inspect the merchandise," grabbing disrespectfully at the women, examining the muscular arms of the men.
The gentleman studied the group of slaves waiting nearby. He paused when he saw a young hitl standing at the back. Her eyes were folled with fear; she looked so frightened. He hesitated for a moment and then disappeared briefly. When he returned, the auctioneer was about to start the nidding for the young girl he had noticed beforehand.
As the auctioneer opened the bidding, the gentleman shouted out a nid that was teice the amount of any other selling price offered that day. There was silence for an instance, and then the gavel fells as "Sold to the gentleman" was heard.
The gentleman stepped forward, making his way through the crowd. He waited at the bottom of thr stros as the young girl was led down ti her nee owner. The rope which bound her was handed to the man, who accepted it without saying anything.
The young girl stared at the ground. Suddenly she looked up and spit in his face. Silently, he reached for a handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face. He smiled gently at the young girl and said, "Follow me,"
She followed him reluctantly. As they reached the edge of the crowd, he continued to a nearby area where each deal was closed legally. When a slave was set free, legal document, called manumission papers, were necessary.
The gentleman paid the purchased price and digned the necessary documenfs. When the transaction was complete, he turned to the young girl and presented the documenf to her. Started, she looked at him with uncertainty. Her narrowed eyes asked, what are you doing?
The gentleman responded to her questioning look. He said, "Here, take these papers. I bought you to set you free. As long as you have these papers in your possession, no man ever make you a slave again,"
The girl looked into his face. What was happening there was silence.
Slowly, she said, "You bought me to set me free? You bought me to set me free?" You bought me to set me free?" As she repeated this phrase over and over, the significance of what had just hapoened became more and more real to her.
"You bought me to set me free?" Was it posible that a stranger had just granted her freedom and never again could she be held in bondage and servitude to any man? As she began to grasp the significance of the document which she now held in her hand, she fell to her knees and wept at the gentleman's feet.
Through her tears of joy and gratitude, she said, "you bought me to set me free?. . . I'll serve you forever!"
You and I were once bound in slavery to sin. But the Lord Jesus paid the price to set us free when He shed His blood at Calvary. That's what the Bible calls redemption.
That's what Paul was referring to when he wrote:
For you were brought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's(1 corithian 6:20).
No comments:
Post a Comment