Released from Bondage

“You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.” (I Peter 1:18-20)  One of the dominant images of the atonement is the idea that we have been released from bondage.  Peter makes a daring statement concerning that in this week’s epistle.  Christ has paid our ransom not with “perishable things like silver and gold” but with his very blood.  Yet how often are we tempted to hang on to those “perishable things” at the cost of not helping the world come to know Jesus?  Are there perishable things that you are tempted to grasp at the expense of greater things?  I invite you this week to rejoice in the imperishable love of God for you.