The Great Exchange

03/18/2012

Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.

Bible verse of the day: Romans 5:8 " But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I love this notion of exchanging something to get something else. It rules almost all aspects of a capitalistic society. We provide a good or service and we get something in return for our efforts. I wash your car, you pay me $20. I make a sale of a certain item, I get paid a commission. But what about all of the other, non-monetary, exchanges that take place in our lives on an almost daily basis that help shape who we are. Sometimes, hopefully, we do something extraordinary for someone without expecting anything of value in return, except for feeling good about the decision we made. Maybe that is the greatest gift of all. We get to build our self worth and self esteem when we help a cause or a person or the earth, without expecting anything back. When we show love towards someone, knowing they can never love us back, that is an act of selflessness that makes our character develop. We exchange a piece of ourselves for the benefit of an other. Well, imagine going to the place that Jesus went to show His love for us, knowing that not only could he get nothing back in this lifetime for his sacrifice, in fact He would have to endure unspeakable agony in order to accomplish His purpose. He would be mocked, derided, spit upon and mercilessly punished in order to fulfill His Father's will, the redemption of mankind. He would make the ultimate sacrifice and within that act, would provide me and anyone else who is willing to accept it, the greatest exchange that could ever take place in our lifetime: His righteousness for our sin. That He would be willing to suffer and die for us while we were yet sinners is what really sets us apart from any other religious doctrine. The implications are enormous. He didn't die for those who had their act together, who were working their way into the Kingdom, who were following all of the laws, who had turned over new leaves, who were going the second mile. No, instead He met us right where we were and still are, in our sinful nature. He said come and join me at the banquet table, for I have taken your sin upon me and given you my righteousness while you were still sinners. That way no one could ever boast about how much they deserved this Great Exchange. Ephesians 2:8-9 pretty much puts the nail in anyone's coffin who thinks their great works are the reason for their salvation " We are saved by grace, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast." This is remarkable in its simplicity, and in its complexity. It is simple to understand that God, being the loving Creator that He is, had to create a plan to salvage His creation from the sinful nature that had befallen them in the Garden. But it is incredibly complex to think that the Son of Man was willing to die a gruesome death, that my sinful nature deserved, in order that I would be set free from the consequences of that sin, so that I could be an eternal part of His Kingdom. And there is nothing that I had to do to earn it? We men like to earn our rewards. We like to feel that we deserve the spoils of our labor. But here Christ Jesus gave us the Greatest Exchange that could ever take place in history and didn't even require us to lift a finger? No work, all grace? Man, does this through many people for a loop. What do you mean I can't earn it? What do you mean I can't work for it? How am I supposed to feel good about myself? All we have to do is truly believe in our hearts and souls that He is and was who He said He was? I find that hard to beleive and this is a lament that keeps so many out of the Kingdom. But it truly is His Amazing Grace indeed, and something that when comprehended to the extent that we as humans can actually comprehend what took place on the Cross at Calvary can be transformational in our lives. If we are willing to see life not as an exchange of what we can get for something we give, but rather as a way to to give thanks for something we have already been given that can never be taken away and that we can never earn, then we can become more Christ like! When we truly look at all of life's situations as a way to bless someone without expecting anything in return, that is where real freedom exists. And where life's true blessings exist. We as Christians have already been given the greatest gift of all! Our job is to give it away in a way that glorifies and exemplifies that love that has already been shown to us. So why is it so tough to truly live this out? Why do I so often fail in my heart and in my soul to take time and to see all situations through this lens of His grace? I guess I can take solace in that He didn't wait for me, or expect me, to be any where near perfect before He was willing to die for me and to remove my sin from my eternal record. Isaiah 1:18 says " Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." My only response is, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!