The Cost of Redemption

Most of you know that my in-laws home burned in Houston.  I say "burned" and not "burned down" purposely.  Though the house is a total loss, most of the structure of the house stands, it stands completely smoke damaged.  Some of the contents can and are being saved.  I say "some" purposely too.

Everything above four feet high in the house is covered with soot and in varying shades of black, most of which is ruined, but some things can be saved.  In that "some" is the overwhelming task.  Everything has to be cleaned to be determined if it can be saved; well everything that is glass or metal.  So dishes must be washed, pots must be cleaned then it can be determined if it can be saved.

The task of cleaning is daunting.  The task of washing seems unending. The task of deciding is wearying.  All of it is overwhelming.  It is a messy, ugly job where the soot gets on you and you breathe it in and it remains in the cracks of your hands. But things are coming along, progress has been made.  Inventories were turned into insurance on Friday of things that were lost.  Decisions still need to be made about the things that were saved.

In my time of helping last weekend, it hit me what a huge task it is of redeeming a fallen world where everything has been covered black with sin.  Were every single thing (mankind and creation) is damaged but some things (us) can be saved.  It is a messy, ugly job.  It cannot be done without it sticking to the one who cleans and redeems. Yet Jesus took it upon himself to clean the whole world of sin.  It takes a lot of love to do that.  It is such a big job it is still being done, even now.

I have a new gratitude for the cleaning Jesus did for us and the love that moved him to move piece by piece, person by person through the universe to redeem what could have been lost.

I am grateful for so many prayers and so much help from the people on this journey with us at Northside.  I am even more grateful for a savior who loved us enough to take on the overwhelming task of redemption and who overcame its overwhelmingness.

For the journey...

Tim