Redeeming Lives

by Heather Tietz

Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:34-36

Slavery is a modern day practice. But today, so is redeeming slaves! Eighty-three year old Olga Murray has redeemed 3000 girls from slavery. In 1989 Olga learned that a rural, impoverished village in Nepal felt cornered into selling their daughters into servitude. Families there had less than a dollar a day to care for themselves. Every year at their annual Maghe Sakranti Festival they sold off their daughters to help fund their family’s needs. When Olga heard of this she came up with an ingenious idea. She created an organization that offers poverty stricken families a piglet or a kid goat to raise and sell, in exchange for a promise to keep their daughters. Because of Olga Murray, the whole village of Tharu, Nepal has been saved.

Slavery touches us. Perhaps God has broken our chains, but others nearby are enslaved in addictive, destructive habits, or victimized by someone else’s. We hold the key to unlock those chains. We have Jesus. We have prayer. We have fasting. We can make an accountability phone call once a week. We can send an encouraging text. We can offer a safe haven for sleep. We can take someone to the doctor. We can help pay for counseling. Like Olga, we can extend our creative God-given ideas and resources, and with Jesus as our lead, we too can redeem lives.