Before I start to finish let me say that this has not been intended to be an exhaustive list of the images the Bible uses to describe what Jesus’ death on the cross means. It’s a sample of some of the more significant ones. But there is so much more to explore. One of the reasons I have written this miniseries is to encourage you to think and explore more widely about what it means when we say that Jesus died for us. So, to the ‘parable’:

Alison was an Olympic-standard swimmer. She specialised in open water swimming – swimming up to 10km in events that would still take the fastest swimmers almost 2 hours to complete. Every day Alison go to a nearby lake to train, regardless of the weather. She was determined, she was committed, she was talented. Alison had the potential to be a gold medal winner: she was that good. Everyone agreed that she could be the best in the world.

The only thing was that she had some chains wrapped around her that rather restricted her swimming ability. They prevented her arms from rotating and her legs from kicking. And more than that, they weighed her down. Every day when she jumped in the water to train she sank to the bottom of and had to be dragged out. She was never going to realise her potential…

…until one day her coach suggested that he knew a man who had some bolt cutters who could cut the chains and set Alison free. All Alison had to do was ask.

Our rebellion against God / falling short of his standards / sin are like chains that bind us and restrict us from reaching out to God. Jesus’ death was such a powerful event that it broke the chains and set us free to be with God. All we have to do is ask.

Be blessed, be a blessing