“For you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2.25
My eyes are drawn to the word “returned” in this verse.
Peter is not writing to people who were backslidden and now got their act together, he is writing to the church in general.
The word “returned” takes me back to a fruit tree in a nice place called Eden.
We belonged to God.
We were tragically separated from God.
Now we have wonderfully returned to Him.
Responding to the call to repent, we have turned from sin, and consequently returned to Christ.
Like the Prodigal in a distant land, we have returned home.
Like the lost sheep who wandered from the fold, we have returned to the Shepherd.
From being banished from the Garden and the tree of life, we have returned to Christ and found Him crucified for us on the tree that gives us life.
This is exactly what redemption is.
Something that was lost is recovered, usually with a price.
Sometimes at an extraordinarily high price.
As costly as the very blood of the Redeemer.
Thank God, we have returned!