Redemption Picture

When we were given the amazing gift a few weeks ago of a paid-in-full meal, we didn't know what to do or how to react.  We were dumbfounded for days.  Then, just a couple days later, my husband came into the room and said, "I think I know why our dinner was paid for."  Then he shared something he'd been reading in a devotional book he has.  In the book, the author was trying to describe Christ's salvation and the idea of redemption where you get something that you don't deserve.  The author went on to say, "Pretend you are in a restaurant and someone comes up to you and tells you, 'Your bill is paid in full'......."  As my husband read that out loud, we all looked at him and said, "You're making that up...." as that very thing had just happened to us.  But no, that was exactly what was written.  Suddenly it was crystal clear.  We were all given in a "restaurant picture" the idea of redemption.  We were given a free meal.  We did nothing to deserve it and yet some kind stranger paid for our meal, in full, expecting nothing in return.  It was the neatest thing for our children to experience - redemption.  Perhaps that wasn't the intention of the gift-giver that night, but it was a great opportunity for us to explain to our children, "That is what redemption is like."