In the song in Oliver! when the orphan Oliver is being sold by the cruel overseer of the orphanage, he sings these words: "One boy, boy for sale, he's going cheap. . . ." For some reason this song comes to my mind at times. He's trying to get rid of Oliver and doesn't care how. Being "sold for nothing" is the story of this present age. How often have I sensed someone was eager to be rid of me? How often have I been eager to get rid of myself, selling my own birthright for nothing or worse?
How easily will I sell my integrity? Or my ability? Or my loved ones? I sell them for a small reprieve from pain or a few seconds of "looking good" or my own sense of importance. What a waste!
The irony is that I sell my life, my true self as God's beloved, for so little and I am not bought back in the same way at all. The payment is not in money or mere recompense, but in blood and sweat for my sake before I knew any better. I am not ransomed by paying back my debts, but by someone taking my side and my place. I am set free by another willing to be a slave and showing me how to serve, the "Servant of all."
And then, the irony deepens. I am set free to serve again, but to a different master. Instead of obsessive desire and overwhelming fear holding the whip, I am able to serve God and others with freedom and, therefore, love. In the end, we are redeemed not with money or suffering or punishment, but with an abiding love that will not let us go. It frees us and infects us at the same time, making us sick with a goodness like Jesus has, a goodness that flows from the inside out.
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