Twice Owned

“All believers receive the power to become children of God, to be transformed and restored to our true nature, people created in the image of God.”

- Charles Colson

One of my favorite stories (and I may have even shared it with you before) is the story of the little boy who built a toy sailboat. He spent hours and hours forming each piece, molding it together, then applying a beautiful coat of paint and majestic sails. When he was finished, it was indeed a masterpiece. He could barely contain himself as he awaited the first opportunity to take it to the local pond and watch it sail. He attached a string to the front and carefully placed it in the water. It was poetry in motion, a perfect creation.

Suddenly, however, an unexpected gust of wind swept across the pond, tugged at the sails, and snapped the string. His beautiful new sailboat sailed off on its own, presumably never to be found again. The young boy was heartbroken, for he loved the sailboat.

One day, months later, he was walking down the main street of his town, and there in the window of a pawn shop, he saw a battered sailboat. Instantly he knew it was his. The paint was chipped, and the sails ripped, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was the sailboat he had made.

He went inside and said to the store owner, “That’s my sailboat.”

The store owner replied, “I don’t know what you mean. It may have once been yours, but it belongs to me now. If you want it, you will have to buy it.”

The little boy went home, gathered all his savings, went back and purchased the boat. As he left the store, he looked at the beaten and battered sailboat and said, “Now you are doubly mine; I made you, then I bought you.”

This story is a perfect illustration of our relationship with Jesus. He made us. We are his masterpiece, made in the image of God. But sin caused us to go astray and what was once beautiful became broken and stained. Jesus came to earth and said, “I made you. You belong to me,” but Satan replied, “They may have once belonged to you, but they are mine now. If you want them, you will need to pay for them.” With that, Jesus went to the cross to pay the purchase price to redeem us from our sin and brokenness. He, too, can now say, “Now you are doubly mine; I made you, then I bought you.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, the Apostle Paul explains it beautifully,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, you are a new creation… You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us from the penalty of sin and restore us to what we once were… a masterpiece made in the image of God.

May we live with the confidence that we are twice owned… God made us, and He bought us. We are His beautiful creation… children of the Most High God.

Pastor Ken

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