God is on a mission to redeem His people and His creation.
I am reading through the Torah right now and it is incredibly interesting to note the emphasis that God places on redemption. Starting in Exodus, He tells the Israelites, “I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment” (Exodus 6:6). He clearly states that He is on a mission to redeem His people.
Then, just a few chapters later – as God is preparing the people for their first Passover – He calls them to join His mission of redemption. He says,
You are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
In days to come, when your son asks you, “What does this mean?” say to him, “With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.” And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand. ~ Exodus 13:12-16
In other words, God tells them to imitate His way of redemption. As the world naturally asks questions about our actions, we are to make it clear that redemption is God’s mission and He’s asked us to join Him in paying the price to “put the world to right.” He’s asked us to make the necessary sacrifices in order to reclaim pockets of the world from the kingdom of darkness and re-position them to experience the kingdom of God.
From this point in Exodus, God goes on to speak of redeeming houses, fields, slaves, relatives and animals. In Leviticus, God records command after command to establish the rights of redemption and then He utilizes an entire book to tell a story of gracious redemption (Ruth).
In all of these things, the generous act of the redeemer (the person who pays the price for redemption) is a sign to the rest of the world that our God is the God of generous redemption. He created the world and therefore He owns the world. But, since the world is now ruled by the kingdom of darkness, God is on a mission to buy back what is rightfully His. And – remarkably – He asks us to join Him in this mission.
So, let me ask you a question. How are you joining God in this mission? What has a lifestyle of generosity cost you…and how has that helped “put the world to right?”
At GenerousChurch, we’ve realized that the scope of generosity far exceeds the financial conversation. According to Scripture, generosity is about so much more than money. And ultimately, His generosity – and our imitation of His generosity – is His chosen way of putting the world to right.
Therefore, when we think of the most powerful forms of generosity, our minds should not necessarily gravitate toward financial transactions. According to God’s example, the most powerful forms of generosity are selfless, sacrificial and redemptive.
What does redemptive generosity look like for you? How are you being intentional about your generosity in order to join God’s mission of redeeming His people and His creation? Is your generosity pointing family members to God’s kingdom? Are you advocating for the poor or those who are being treated unjustly? Are you redeeming the self-worth (God-worth) of individuals around you through your words?
Let’s be intentional with our giving to make sure we are honoring and imitating the Greatest Giver of all. God gives with the purpose of redeeming. Our giving should follow that model.(Tweet that.)
The following articles and videos will give you a few more ideas for using your generosity to heal the world. The first two will help you think through redeeming characteristics of your personal generosity and the third one looks at the generosity of your local church. Check them out and let us know how you’ll join God’s mission of generous redemption in the comments below.