Redeeming Rudy

"Mom, where's Rudy?" asked Joel as he came in after school, looking for his dog. "She's not in the yard." Mom sighed heavily. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Joel, but after lunch I found the gate open, and Rudy was gone. I drove all around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find her." Joel groaned and covered his eyes, and Mom squeezed his shoulder. "Rudy's name and owner information are on her chip and collar tag," she said. "Maybe someone will find her and call us."Time moved slowly that evening, and Joel couldn't concentrate on his homework. He kept waiting for the phone to ring. He was upstairs when a call finally came. Mom's voice sounded excited, and Joel bounded down the stairs, two at a time. "Did someone find Rudy?" he asked anxiously."Yes!" Mom said as she picked up her purse and keys. "She's at the animal control center." As they drove to the center, Mom explained what had happened. "Somebody saw Rudy running around loose and called animal control. They sent a truck to pick her up and take her to the center, so now we have to pay the required fee to get her back."Joel frowned. "We have to pay money?" Mom nodded. "But she belongs to us!" said Joel. "We'd be buying our own dog back."Mom smiled at Joel's look of disbelief. "We have to redeem her," she told him. "The word redeem means to buy back, and buying our own dog back is a good picture of what God did for us. He made us, so in that sense we belong to Him. But our sin separated us from God, so He had to redeem us--to buy us back by paying for all the wrong things we've done."Joel nodded. "I learned a verse about that. God didn't redeem us with money. He redeemed us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.""Yes," said Mom. "Because Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin, we can be forgiven and truly belong to God." Soon they arrived at the animal control center, picked up Rudy, and were on their way home. Rudy was so excited she could hardly sit still. "Rudy's glad to be redeemed," Joel said as he patted Rudy's head. "And so am I!" –Pauline Youd