DEVOTION / Ransomed!
Who will pay the price?
The ransom for a life is costly; no payment is ever enough. Psalm 49:8.
A very funny short story was written several years ago by author O. Henry titled The Ransom of Red Chief. It is a short story about two bumbling crooks who kidnap ten-year-old Johnny. They take him to their cave hideout and demand a ransom of $2,000 for his release. What they didn’t realize was that little Johnny was a brat who would cause them all sorts of trouble. By the end of the story, the criminals pay Johnny’s dad $250 to take Johnny back again.
The dictionary defines ransom as a payment demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner. The crooks in O. Henry’s story demanded $2,000 for the release of their prisoner.
Jesus paid the price
Like Johnny, we also had been kidnapped, but ours was far more dangerous. We were kidnapped by Satan. He had control over our souls, our thoughts, our words, and our actions. First John 5:19 reminds us: The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. There was no way we or anyone else could pay the price to ransom us from Satan’s hold. Psalm 49:7,8 explains, No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly; no payment is ever enough.
Then what can we do? How could we ever hope to be rescued? There is an answer. Jesus came to the rescue. He paid the ransom, but it demanded a high price. Jesus suffered and died so he might give his own blood as a ransom for our release. Mark 10:45 tells us, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. First Peter 1:18,19 (ESV) puts it this way: You were ransomed . . . not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. What great love that took!
by Reynold R. Kremer