Redeemed

Every Good Friday and Easter we all hear a lot about being "redeemed" and how "God has redeemed us through Christs death and resurrection". Truthfully, I never thought much about it. I mean I knew the words and could tell you what they meant but they had no personal meaning for me....I was a Christian and I believed everything about Easter but there was no real personal feeling; no gratitude for what was done for me. This year has been different. I have spent the last year reading blogs and watching regular families spend everything they have. They beg and borrow and sell whatever they can. They give everything to redeem a child no one else wants. Children that are left to die; that are not "perfect" that sometimes smell bad, and act up and don't even know  or appreciate what is being done for them. It just occurred to me the other day that is exactly what Christ did for me. He paid with His life for me. Even though I was unwanted by anyone else, I act up and don't always appreciate what He did for me. I can't even fully understand what He did for me. But He still redeemed me. Maybe thats why God has told the church to care for orphans. Maybe its more for our benefit than theirs. Maybe its so we can understand, just a little bit better, what kind of sacrifice it took to redeem us and what kind of love it took.