The idea of redemption has its origin in the image of God because you cannot regain or restore that which you never had. Everyone has been created in God’s image, so everyone has a horse in this race. We all hope to enter the winner’s circle, but sadly hear gunshots in the distance announcing the fate of a fellow traveller whose broken worldview leg can no longer bear the weight of truth.

We have soiled the image in which we were created, and we feel dirty. Although most of us don’t understand why we feel guilty, we still know we need a thorough cleaning. If we experience guilt for having sullied the image, how much more do you think it breaks the heart of the One who created it? It so grieved His heart that He stepped into the world to personally make it right.

Sins are not just individual acts of defiance isolated in time; they are cumulative. Every time we enter the outhouse of sin we leave with the toilet paper of consequence stuck to our shoes. Sin creates pain and suffering in our lives, so we need more than just forgiveness; we need restoration.

Jesus did more than just sacrificially die for our sins. He also took on the pain and suffering of a sin portfolio that had collected significant amounts of compound interest since mankind’s first Garden deposit. God could not ignore the trail of tears we left behind in the wake of our expedition into the wilderness of sin. The payment Jesus offered on our behalf was not some teenage allowance from His Father, but rather a wage earned in the thorns and thistles of human suffering. We can never look Jesus in the eye and accuse Him of having lived a life of luxury, sponging off His Old Man. He emptied Himself of His divine family privilege and became a servant to men impoverished by sin. Jesus paid it all, so burn all the unpaid iniquity bills that have been piling up in your life and receive an inheritance reserved for the children who cry out, “Abba, Father!”

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8: 15-17)