The Exchange

Today, this Good Friday, your social media feeds will be filled with pictures of Christ on the cross and quotes about His death. people will lament about what happened on this fateful day. Most of us will scroll past because we are numb to it all. Some will roll their eyes annoyed at all the Christians. Others will stop and read one or two before moving on.

I have written about Good Friday almost every year since I began writing on my blog. I remember working in a restaurant and fasting with Scott one year on Good Friday. That was hard. As I got older, Easter never lost its meaning, however, my perspective changed. I still loved Easter, I just felt like Easter was every day for me; not just a holiday once a year.

As I thought about what to write today, I tried to scroll back through some of my old Good Friday posts to do a re-post. Wouldn’t you know, I couldn’t find one of my old posts. So, I guess I have to come up with some new thoughts.

As much as Good Friday has everything to do with allowing for a cataclysmic change in us and within our souls, I am finding it is more about the exchange instead of the change.  Good Friday has everything to do with Jesus exchanging His life for mine and less to do about a change in me.

Exchange: an act of giving one thing and receiving another (especially of the same type or value) in return 

Let me explain. When I see His death and resurrection as an exchange, I flip the focus off of me and back onto the One it should be on: Jesus. He exchanged His life for mine so that I may be changed.

Without the exchange, there is no change.

When I read the definition for exchange, it made this all the more astronomical. Exchange (in our human terms) is defined as exchanging one thing for another of equal value. Let me preface this by saying, we are not God. Not even close. However, on that day, in that moment of exchange, God valued us so richly that He exchanged His son’s life for ours. There was no, “I’m better than you.” It was all about, “I love you so much, I value you so richly, that I will exchange my Son’s life for yours.”

Maybe you don’t feel like you deserve His sacrifice today. Maybe you are caring too much shame. You think there is no way He could possibly love you. I am here to tell you that you are exactly whom He had in mind when He decided to make that exchange.

Your life IS worth it. It was worth it when He made the exchange on the cross all those years ago and it is worth it today.

You are worth the exchange so that you may be changed.

“But the fact is, it was our pains He carried-our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought He brought it on Himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him-our sins. He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on Him.” Isaiah 53:3-6 (The Message Bible)

The Exchange.

Done on purpose.

For you.

For me.

Because He wants to see the change…

In you.

And me.

Love & Blessings,

Meg