One day in 1791, a man showed up to a Virginia courthouse, proclaimed “I will pay the highest price for their freedom,” and then proceeded to emancipate every slave he had inherited.
His name was Robert Carter the third, and he was a remarkable human.
In the face of uproar and disgust from his southern peers, he would go on to set over 500 people free in his lifetime at astounding expense to his wealth and reputation. He never stopped to count the cost.
It was dangerous.
It was unthinkable.
It was a love that seemed far ahead of its time.
Imagine for a moment; You were one of those slaves in captivity.
You knew nothing but a life of darkness and doubt. Then, a mysterious Man saw your sorrow, paid the highest price for you, and set you free.
Think for a moment how overwhelming that joy would have been.
I have another story to share.
A couple thousand years before Robert Carter III, another mysterious man showed up at a different courthouse.
He saw mankind in chains by a different kind of captor:
Pride.
Insecurity.
Addiction.
Shame and guilt.
Anxiety.
Lust.
Self-centeredness.
Jealousy.
Greed.
Fear.
He saw our sorrow, and proclaimed:
“I will pay the highest price for your freedom.”
Except, the ransom for you and I would cost him far more than money could buy.
The price to pay for our freedom was his life. And he gave it to us by dying on a cross, 1,995 years ago today.
It was dangerous.
It was unthinkable.
It was a love that seemed far ahead of its time.
A love that could only be understood by the son of a God who wants so much better for us.
Today, I am remembering that love.
I am remembering sacrifice that was purchased for me at astounding expense by Jesus Christ.
I am embracing the joy of a freed man.
And I have wonderful news…
We can all embrace the joy of being free, if we just choose it.
Because of the ransom that has been paid, we are allowed to shed the shackles of our pride, insecurities, addictions, shame, guilt, anxiety, lust, self-centeredness, jealousy, greed, and fear.
There is no freedom in these things.
They separate us from a life of peace that God wants for us.
And he invites us to choose that life with a simple prayer.
We have been bought and freed, my friend.
What a Good Friday it is to be alive.
BW
