Acts of redemption...

So recently Christians all over the world celebrated the ultimate act of redemption: Christ's atonement for our sin through His death and resurrection. And sneak previews of smaller acts of redemption and prophecies sprinkled throughout the Old Testament foreshadow this glorious event.

On Saturday a friend and I talked of one such act of redemption, when Boaz married the widow Ruth. The next day the same friend redeemed me a bit. I could've easily stopped at a store to pick up the fruit juice I was supposed to bring, but she offered to bring hers instead (never mind the fact that we didn't end up drinking it anyway). Another instance of redemption comes to mind. I was at school and the thought of making copies of tests had totally slipped my mind until it was about time to start teaching. A fellow teacher helped me out by making a bunch of copies and bringing them to me so that I could proceed to start my class without waiting for that set of copies. A quick response of kindness that saved my morning.

Last week during Holy Week I attended the morning services that included bits from The Book of Common Prayer. Here is a snippet from a daily prayer from that:

"And, we pray, give us such an awareness of our mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise"

God's 'saves' did not stop with the ultimate save. He has delivered since the beginning of time and will continue to do so until the end. Perhaps if we live with eyes open to His mercies, we will notice and be more thankful for His many acts of deliverance.

And we should strive to redeem others in even small invisible ways in day-to-day life. You never know when those small acts of kindness might 'save' someone's day or 'redeem' the moment. Perhaps some of the tips in the article Practice Non-Random Acts of Kindness can help create a good framework toward this end.