Hey friends! Long flights home from Israel always lend themselves to contemplation and reflection regarding the time spent in His chosen land. As I write, I just returned safely to American soil, so I’ll fill my layover at LAX by sharing some thoughts with you.

In flight, I was drawn to many passages of Scripture, but one verse caught my attention and I couldn’t shake it. Take a look at Mark 10:45. As I contemplated the servant heart of Jesus, our Lord, and the fact He gave His life a ransom for many, the words “serve” and “ransom” stuck out to me.

Indeed, four of us went to Israel on one specific mission: to serve and love the people God uniquely chose. Service is a sacrifice, yet not one of us would deny that we were blessed as much as those we served. In God’s economy, blessings flow both ways, and I’m so thankful we benefited by that.

The word “ransom,” though, left me with much deeper contemplation as I consider the incredibly high ransom Israel has paid to redeem her hostages. It points us straight to the price Jesus paid to ransom us. What is the value of life? Can it be valued in money? It cost Jesus His blood, His life, and momentary separation from God the Father as He took our sin upon Himself.

We saw the outpouring of grief as roads were lined with yellow ribbons, Israeli flags and pictures and personal mementos of hostages. We witnessed the intense suffering and heartache among the Jewish people, as horrifying scenes of Hamas’ humiliation of hostages in “release ceremonies,” and the blatant disregard for the Bibas’ and other hostage families. Meanwhile, thousands of terrorist prisoners, many with blood on their hands, were released in exchange for the 33 hostages (alive and dead) Israel received in return.

Making it even more disgusting is the fact some of those terrorists came home millionaires because of payments made to them for their acts of violence and taking of Jewish lives. There is no justice in exchanging the innocent for the guilty. There is no justice in the great price that was paid to redeem Israeli citizens. Psalm 49:8 says, The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough.

Indeed, Jesus Christ’s ransom for us cost Him everything, and we can never repay. That goes for those of us who strive to follow Him in all His ways, as well as the very terrorists whose ransom has made them rich in this world.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
~John 3:16

Swallow hard, friends, and know that the world doesn’t need “nicer terrorists,” it needs Jesus. Yes, there are consequences to sin, and God Himself will avenge the wrath that has been poured out by Hamas and others. Hamas should face stiff retribution for their evil deeds, and ultimately, they will. Meanwhile, where do we stand with the One who ransomed us from our own evil?

Long international flights offer plenty of time to contemplate! I hope you will do the same in whatever bits of time you have.

I’ll share more on a lighter note tomorrow, so be sure to check in for that!