Whole Redemption

Psalm 107

“LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. (Psalm 107:13, 19, 28)

THROUGHOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT, God demonstrates a pattern of delivering his people from their distress. The most notable of these occasions is the Exodus, when Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and eventually to the Promised Land. This real-time, physical deliverance is reinterpreted in the New Testament as a picture of the spiritual salvation we receive in Christ, who leads us out of captivity to sin and death into everlasting life with him. Together, these two rescues give us a complete picture of salvation that includes fulfilling all our needs, both in this world and in the age to come.

It’s important to interpret these two events together. If we separate them and look at the Old Testament only as a material picture of a real deliverance—if the Exodus is just an allegory of greater, future things—we risk seeing our salvation as only spiritual. But when we read both stories as parts of a greater whole, it becomes clear that God is concerned not only for our souls, but our bodies, our social conditions, our injustices, our relationships, our finances—our entire lives. God freely gives us a spiritual salvation and significant restoration in this world. He doesn’t offer a wonderful future while leaving us trapped in the present. His mercies apply to today.

It’s true that we may still contend with illness, debt, and all sorts of captivities after our salvation experience, just as it’s true that we also struggle with sin after salvation. But the message of the Kingdom is comprehensive, not promising immediate freedom from all trouble (as the Israelites discovered after fleeing Egypt), but surely promising help in every situation. Like the people of Israel, we are transferred from one master to another, and our new Master is vitally interested in all of our needs.

Always represent the gospel as fully as you can. Salvation is not some sort of magic trick that makes life trouble-free, but neither is God limited to an invisible realm that makes no difference in the here and now. God enters into our lives to deliver, heal, repair, and restore. His pattern of meeting us in our distress is for all times.

{Lord, you are merciful in every area of life. Your promises are true in every situation. You fix our eyes on eternity, but train us for eternity even now. May I always present the truth of your Kingdom in all its fullness. Amen.