The Story Behind the Song "Redeemed"

REGI STONE BEHIND THE STORY OF REDEEMED by Regi Stone

More than two years ago, my family and I relocated to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so I could join the worship staff of a church pastored by a longtime friend. After decades in the high-energy, high stress environment of Music City USA, things are much different here in the shadow of the Grand Tetons. Our home is actually about thirty minutes outside of town, so I have a lot of time to appreciate God’s handiwork as I drive through the canyon on the way into Jackson Hole. This move has recalibrated our lives in a myriad of ways.

In particular, I’ve had to be more intentional about creating music with other people. Having lived in Nashville for twenty years, I could walk into a coffee shop and walk out with a latte and a writing appointment with a songwriter I met there. Here in Wyoming, you walk out with a latte and a smile on your face because you can’t believe you live in such a beautiful place.
But every once in a while, someone shows up with the time and desire to write. “Redeemed” was the result of a four-day writing session with one of my favorite co-writers, Jeff Ferguson, who flew in to collaborate with me. The main idea of the song is that “We are not our own, we are redeemed.”

It’s tempting for me to define myself in these ways:
Relationally - as a husband, father, or grandfather.
Or vocationally - as a worship leader, songwriter, or entrepreneur.
Or situationally as an American or as someone who’s blessed to live somewhere that others only get to visit.

But my first and foremost identity must be that of a beloved child who’s been redeemed by the blood of God’s own Son. Everything else flows from that truth.

As a worship leader, I want the lyrics of the songs we sing to not only praise our heavenly Father but also to accomplish our personal transformation as we confess who we are in Christ.

Redeemed means God has paid the ultimate price to reclaim us. Christ’s love—and blood—has freed us from captivity. No one is unwanted or banned from receiving this redemptive miracle: “We are all welcome here. We are safe in this holy atmosphere.”

Part of this redemptive story is us believing and understanding what being redeemed means. It means we will spend eternity with each other around the throne of heaven bowing and proclaiming praises to the King of Kings.

It’s that huge.
It’s that real.
It’s that amazing. We are redeemed.

If that’s not enough to rejoice over, then what is?

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