Redeemed? Restored? You might be wondering, “What on earth do these words even mean?” It’s a good question and the answer is the focus of today’s devotion. Redeemed literally means to buy back. The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s freedom. If we apply this term to Christ’s death on the cross, what we see is that our lives were redeemed from the condition of slavery to our sins.

You see, when humanity sinned against God, we were separated from Him. Not just here and now, but for all of eternity. Our eternal destination was hell, not heaven. But God’s love for us was so great that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us and when He did, He bought us out of slavery. When we take the next step and accept Him as our Savior, our relationship with God is then restored. We get a fresh start. A do over. This time, with God by our side.