Redeemed - Do you know what it means?

The Bible states in 2 Peter 2:19, “You are a slave to whatever controls you”. Based on this alone, all of us are slaves to something - whatever controls us. This is why a Savior is such an important thing, for without a Savior we are lost in the sin which has controlled us. And Isaiah has stated very distinctly  "but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear." Isa 59:2  

The book of Hosea presents what is the best written concept of the need of a Savior than any other book. In the center of the marketplace, you're in the middle of an auction, because YOU are what is being bid upon. As each successive bid is shouted out, you look in the eyes of those who are bidding on you and try to size them up. Are they kind or cruel? How hard will your labor have to be? How grueling is the master you are getting ready to serve?  Just as the auction is winding down, a stranger from the crowd stands up and offers a bid a thousand times higher than anyone else’s bid. There is no way anyone could ever match or beat the bid. As the auctioneer hastily accepts it, you look into that stranger’s eyes and realize he isn’t bidding on you to use you, like a slave. He’s buying you in order to set you free. This is what Jesus did for us!  He paid the price to set you free. The price for your freedom was so high you could never pay it. But he paid it for you. All of those sins that were on your shoulders? They were removed - placed upon Jesus, "who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." Rom 4:25  

Yet, people do not take advantage of the freedom that Christ has purchased. Even if you’re a follower of Jesus, you may not be living in that freedom. You may be allowing yourself to be controlled by your desires, your relationships, schedule, or your fears.  So many people spend their lives seeking significance and freedom on manmade dead-end passes. Yet, the truth is stated in the Psalms, Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, (Psalm 49:7-8)

In what ways do you let things other than God have mastery over your life?  How does knowing and reflecting upon what Jesus went through to pay for your freedom change how you embrace that freedom? "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" Gal 4:9  

Jim