Learning Redemption at an Early Age

My Sunday School class this summer is going through the book "Redemption Accomplished and Applied" by John Murray. It's no light reading, and I'm thankful that the class is taught by a man who is good teacher, and is able to make it understandable.

Going through this book made me reflect back on something from my childhood - the "redemption" or "buy-it-back" box. This was a box kept in a large cupboard in the kitchen into which my mom would put stuff that my sister and I had left laying around the house (toys, shoes, books, etc.) that we hadn't put away, despite repeated instructions to do so. After our item landed in that box, if we wanted it back (which we always did) we had to redeem it, or "buy it back" either by paying for it or doing a chore. I think this is a great idea. I'm sure my mom started it because she was fed up with my sister and I not putting our stuff away when she asked, but I think it's great because it gets kids to understand what the concept of redemption means - even if it is on a very simplistic, basic level.

It wasn't until later on in my Christian walk that I began to form an understanding of what redemption really means. And although I'm pretty sure I'll never understand it fully this side of Glory, I'm grateful for the early lessons my parents gave me on this weighty and awesome concept.

And I'm grateful I was able to get my shoes and dolls back, too.