In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
"Redemption" is a financial word before it's a religious one — buying something back, paying off what's owed on it. This verse uses it plainly: a debt, forgiven, according to the riches of grace, not the size of what was owed.
That's worth pausing on if guilt is part of what's kept you from looking closely at any of this. Maybe there's a specific list in your head of things you figure would disqualify you — actions, patterns, whole seasons you'd rather not account for. This verse isn't vague about the existence of that debt. It calls it trespasses, plainly. But it claims the payment made against it was measured by how rich God's grace is, not by how manageable your failures happen to be.
You don't need a clean record to take this seriously — the verse assumes you don't have one. It's written for people who owe something real, and it claims the debt was actually paid, not overlooked.
If guilt over something specific has kept you at a distance from all this, it might be worth finding out what this redemption actually claims to cover.
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.