Redeemed to love...

freed to serve !

Dear friends,
I share this text that has deeply touched me — may it lead us to contemplate the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and the response we are called to give.

In the depths of Africa, a man walks under the burning sun, his heart heavy with divine compassion. David Livingstone, physician and explorer — but above all, a servant of Christ — comes upon a slave caravan: men, women, children, chained together, dragged toward humiliation and suffering. He cannot save them all, but he can act for one.

His eyes rest on a frail man, without strength, without hope. “How much for that one?” he asks the trader. The price is paid. The chains fall. Yet the man stands frozen, as if invisible shackles still bound his soul. “You are free,” Livingstone tells him — three words that can transform an entire life.

Overwhelmed, the man answers: “I want to stay with you and serve you freely, since you have had mercy on me.” (Story told by J.-L. Gaillard)

What Livingstone did that day, our Lord Jesus Christ has done for each of us — not with gold or silver, but with His own blood shed on the cross. Revelation reminds us: “You have redeemed people for God by Your blood, from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Rev. 5:9)

We were chained — by sin, by shame, by our past, by passions that ruled us. Slaves to a cruel master, unable to free ourselves. But Jesus stepped forward. He did not only say, “I love you”; He said, “I give My life for you.” He took our chains. He bore our condemnation. He took our place.

And today He still looks us in the eye and says: “You are free. I have redeemed you. You are no longer for sale. You no longer need to fear. You no longer need to hide.”

How will you respond to such love? That African slave didn’t wait for orders, nor did he need convincing. He simply offered himself in gratitude: “I want to stay with you, and serve you freely.” That is the language of a heart touched by grace.

So let us not serve God as slaves under compulsion, but as men and women redeemed, set free, transformed. Let us not live our faith as a heavy duty, but as a song of thanksgiving. Yes, we have been redeemed to love, freed to serve.

The world today speaks of freedom. But true freedom is the one Christ gives. It does not depend on outward chains, but on inner deliverance. It does not begin with changed circumstances, but with a transformed heart.

Even now, Jesus walks among the caravans of humanity. He sees your distress, your invisible chains, and He tells you: “I want you. I redeem you. You are free.” Oh, may a cry rise up in your heart: “Lord, I want to stay with You. I want to follow You. I want to serve You — not because I must, but because You had mercy on me.”

Redeemed to love. Freed to serve. This is our calling. This is our privilege. Come to Him today. Receive true freedom. And let your whole life become a response of love to the One who first loved you.