Dear Disciple,
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
Our Master Jesus emptied Himself (Philippians 2:7) so that He could save us from the emptiness passed on to us from others. When He emptied Himself, He took on mortal human flesh and blood. Freely and knowingly offering up that precious blood, He has purchased our freedom from the futility of living for self, pursuing worldly pleasures, and relying on empty religious traditions.
What “empty way of life handed down from your ancestors” do you suppose Peter had in mind when he wrote this to his fellow disciples Generally, there would be two kinds of empty living handed down in Peter’s context: paganism without the truth of God or Judaism without the Spirit of God. In both ways of life, people are far from God, and so they are far from life.
What could someone give to buy their freedom from these two empty ways of life? How much silver, gold, cash, or cargo would be enough to purchase a single human life, let alone millions of them? There is no amount of worldly wealth that can be handed over to purchase humanity. But there was one life of such immense value and power that it could be offered up as ransom for all others: the life of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
As you give thanks to the Lamb of your salvation, Disciple, I invite you to consider: from what empty ways of life have you been freed? What ways of life did you learn from parents, grandparents, friends, musicians, and storytellers that ended up being empty and without lasting meaning? You are now free to walk away from those things because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Your bondage is broken, and you now have a power and freedom to choose that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Without the cross of Christ, our only choice was which empty way of life to embrace. “Pick your poison,” as they say. Ah, but thanks be to our Master Jesus who opened the way of fullness, wholeness, and eternity for us!
Since so high a price was paid for our deliverance, Disciple, let us choose today to reject the emptiness of the lives we once lived. Let us leave the dead ways that used to hold us in the past while we press on to experience the Kingdom way, walking step by step with the One who was slain but now lives for ever and ever. Amen!
Living in fullness because of Him,
Ryan