I was once on the
auction block.
A slave.
Weighted down.
Enchained.
Afflicted.
Full
of Shame.
My master, who had once lured me into His trap, had
promised me freedom, peace, and a joyful life. He gave me instead a
life full of pain, shame and oppression. I was trapped in his grip
and unable to escape from his wicked clutches. Though he promised
to care for me, all he did was take from me. He took and took and
took and took, until I had nothing left to give. I was used up. And
now that he had no use for me, he placed me on the auction block,
hoping to squeeze one last bit of profit from my existence. As I
stood on that block, I heard the words of my Master. “For Sale,
one slave woman. Useless and of no account. Sold to the highest
bidder.” He grinned a merciless, sly grin as he said these words.
It was then that I realized that he had no intention of letting me
go. He seemed to find great pleasure in giving me the hope of
freedom, and completing dashing away all possibilities of escaping
his evil clutches. I sighed a deep, painful sigh. It was a sigh
that came from the very pit of my stomach. There was no hope for me.
None at all, for of course, no one would purchase me. Why would
they?
But a man appeared and
said, “I'll buy her.” I saw my Master's look of utter shock
and annoyance at the man's proposal. As for me, I was too afraid to
hope again. I knew my wicked master would find a way to destroy my
hope again. But I did appreciate this valiant man's attempt. For a
moment, I felt human again. I felt worthy of love—for just a
moment. I tried to hold on to this moment for as long as I could,
for it was the only joy I had felt in such a long time. This man
wore a Royal Robe, and was obviously of great wealth. Yet, he put on
no airs. There was a tenderness about him, a gracefulness in the
way he moved and a searching quality in the way he probed the scene.
This was no ordinary man. There was something about this man that
gave me hope, though I was certain there was no hope. This man
intrigued me.
My master responded to
this man's offer to buy me, by setting my price at a price no
reasonable person would accept. I wasn't surprised. As I said
before, he had no intention of letting me go. And yet, this
mysterious man responded again, “I'll buy her.” My master
decided he would play a game with this noble man. I knew my master
well. He was a shrewd businessman and he would not miss the
opportunity to profit from this man of great wealth. So he increased
the price again, and again the man replied with, “I'll buy her.”
Well, obviously even these absurd amounts were nothing compared to
this man's great worth. My master greedily continued increasing my
selling price, with the full intent of keeping me and swindling this
man out of absurd amounts of his fortune.
Finally, my master
informed the regal stranger that he would only let me go if someone
volunteered to take my place. That was the only payment he would
take. Well, that would do it. At this point I knew my master had
accomplished his wicked scheme. Who would dare to take my place? My
state of affairs was a most pitiful existence. No one would choose
my fate for their worse enemy, and because I sensed that this man was
of high and noble character, he would not place my fate on any other.
But something unexpected happened. It was a strange twist of my
fate, and it rocked my world to its very core. The man persisted in
pursuing me. He offered His life in exchange for mine. I didn't
understand how this royal man could pay such a high price for me. He
was of great importance in the world. I was useless, helpless and of
no value. The world needed someone like him. I had nothing to offer
anyone anymore. The man's offer was ludicrous and I honestly could
not allow him to pay such a price for me. Though my life meant
nothing, I knew this man didn't deserve my fate. I would accept my
fate with the knowledge that there was some good in the world.
As I was pondering
these strange and peculiar circumstances, this royal man stood before
me. He uttered no words. He only smiled lovingly at me. Tenderly,
he embraced me. I distinctly remember feeling such a sensation of
joy and peace as I'd never known before. This was love. I wanted to
say something to this man, but I could not utter a word. Not even a
syllable. I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say, “Don't do
this.” Instead, I sobbed in His arms, and somehow I sensed that he
knew. He knew all that I wanted to say. He removed His royal robe
and placed it around me. He took the rings from his fingers and
placed them on mine. He told me that everything he owned, was now mine.
Honestly, I had no idea what this meant. I never owned anything. I
had only been “owned”. He told me his servants would take care
of me. My mine was in a daze. I was dumbfounded. And just as I
had gathered my wits enough to speak, my master's servants snatched
this man away from me. They released me from my chains and placed
them on this man. This man wore MY CHAINS. This was wrong!!!! No!
No! No! No! My mind began to race. My heart felt like it would
escape my chest. How could they take this man?
I somehow managed to
scream, “Why?!”
He replied, “Because
I love you.”
And then they took him
away.
So there I was left
standing on the auction block, dressed in a royal robe, with rings on
my fingers, and servants waiting to respond to my every command. And
this royal man was taken to the place of my torment. The place of
my shame. I could not understand it all.
Suddenly the reality of it
all began to take shape in my mind.
I was free.
Paid for
by the precious life of this Royal and noble man. My life is not my
own, I have been purchased at a great price. So I live to honor the
One who paid such a high price for me.
