The Great Exchange

Well, it is the day after Christmas.  The stores are full again.  Some are seeking to buy next year’s gift wrap or a few marked down scented candles.  Many others are at the store to exchange what they didn’t want for what they did.  Many don’t stop to think how much love Grandma put into choosing that sweater.  Many don’t know how long Mom and Dad agonized over just which “right” video game to buy their child.  Many don’t appreciate fruit cakes, and if the store won’t exchange them, send them to me.  I really like fruit cake, but that is a different issue.  The point is that we want what we want and don’t often care how much someone else loved or cared in the selection of what we got.

That is the way with mankind.  We have always wanted what we want. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had it all.  Try to think of one thing they truly lacked.  The list is so short because it doesn’t exist.  But, they wanted to exchange it for something else.  What God in love and grace had provided for them; what He had created for them; what He had known they really needed wasn’t enough.  They traded it for what they wanted and then they ended up discovering that wasn’t such a great exchange after all.  But God, in His immeasurable love, promised them a better Christmas.

God wished to exchange their rags for His riches.  After they had thrown away His riches for their rags that was a lot of love from God to offer.  Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed His own love to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for our sins.”  Jesus, who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  He exchanged His riches for our rags so that we could exchange our rags for His riches.  That is what Christmas is all about.  It is the great exchange by God for us.  There is a gift that we can hold dear for all of life and eternity.  When God offers you that gift exchange, will you accept His offer? 

Alongside Adam we did say, let us exchange God’s gift today

And let us choose the way to go, let’s ignore Him who loves us so

And so the gift was given back, exchanged a mansion for a shack

The choice we made was very bad, our life was hard are hearts were sad

But God in love appeared again, to trade His own Son for our sin

The great exchange He freely gave, His own creation so to save

Restored by love through His great grace, if we His great exchange embrace

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