We all love a good story about redemption.  A human hero, warts and all, who overcomes weakness to win the day.  We love it because we live it.  We identify with the weakness and maybe even the warts, and we hope to overcome, to win.

Redemption is such a common theme that GoodReads has a shelf labelled ‘Redemption’, upon which we find such books as The Kite Runner (Hosseini); Les Miserables (Hugo); and A Christmas Carol (Dickens).  One book missing from the shelf deals with the redemption of, not only individuals, but the whole of the created universe.  That book is the Bible.

The story of redemption is the unifying theme of the Bible.  It is a theme that stretches across time, encapsulating our past, present and future.  It is a reality surpassing literary fiction, working at the heart of our humanity, bringing hope to the darkest of situations.  It is a redemption that is undeserved, lovingly provided by the selfless sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It is offered to all, who recognising their weakness, grab hold of it in simple faith, like Abram in Genesis.  Those who do are the overcomers of Revelation.

To understand the Bible we must understand this story of redemption.  Follow along over the next series of posts, as we explore this theme in more depth.  We will find that the working out of this redemption in life is often messy, one thread of a complex pattern, yet when seen in its entirety displays a beauty and glory unrivalled.

• The Law of Redemption