TLIC Psalms. April 13. Ransom.

Read Psalm 49:5-12. ⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, ⁶those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? ⁷Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, ⁸for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, ⁹that he should live on forever and never see the pit. ¹⁰For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. ¹¹Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. ¹²Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

He sure makes it sound so absurd doesn’t he? Trusting in wealth and boasting in riches. Everyone dies. The wise, the fool, and the stupid. The only land you can own forever is the grave you’re buried in. No one can take it with them. And in the end we are all just like the homeless beasts. If you live long enough you lose everything.

Yes, the pursuit of money is existentially absurd, and yet we all fear what it costs to not have more money and we ignore what it costs to gain more money. Sure, the rich cheat us, but who doesn’t want to be just a little bit more rich.  

But why? Can wealth ransom someone’s life from the wage of death? Can it buy back the life of your loved one? Can the pit be avoided with a generous enough donation? Can you buy eternal life?

You can’t.

But Christ did.

Matthew 20:28. the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

To live is Christ is to transfer all security from the accruing of wealth to the worship of him. It is to stop imagining your life with just a little bit more, and to start imagining it with all that is his.

Prayer. Jesus, you are the only one who can ransom a life, and you did. You gave God the price of your life. May this forever change how I see the value of my life and the value of my money. Amen.

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