The Exchange

There is a God. He is a just and fair and glorious God. He made a race of beings to act as a mirror of himself. This isn't egotism; if you are perfect even you recognize your perfection. Those beings, humans, however, didn't want to mirror their Creator. They wanted their Creator to mirror them. This was egotism. So they rebelled against God. The sinned against a perfect Creator God. They committed cosmic treason. They joined the Enemy of the God and sided with Satan. As a result they suffer from his wiles, the effects of death, and the consequences of sin against God and each other. The just God had to punish their treason; if he did not, he would not be just and would be stooping to the level of the rebels. Since the rebellion was pervasive the only choice was death, both physical and eternal.

But God was not willing to allow the Enemy free reign. He joined battle for the hearts of the rebels determined to win them back. Some came back. They weren't the creme of the crop; they were the weaklings, the jerks, the liars, the perverts, the murderers. God showed them their rebellion. He changed their hearts back to his. He forgave them their rebellion. But a price needed to be paid for their rebellion. Someone had to die. 

A person can't even pay for their own rebellion, it is so pervasive. No amount of time in hell, a terrible place of sin and separation from God, or resume of good works could cover the cost of the treason. But one person could pay for the sins of everyone else. He was perfect, just, holy, and righteous. He was God himself. God decided to come save his treasonous people by dying in their place to satisfy his own wrath. A third of the Tri-une Godhead that is God came to Earth. His name was Jesus and he lived among his people like a pauper, though he was a prince. He taught them many things. And at the end, he allowed the people most blinded to their treason to execute him for treason. He paid the bounty for the rebellion of the people.

Then three days later he rose from his execution to accomplish something else for his ill-deserving people; he provided his righteousness to them. One of the rebels, a man named Paul would later write down that "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21). Another rebel named Martin Luther would call this the Great Exchange. This rebel is writing this blog to talk about how God has permanently paid for his treason and is constantly making him less treasonous. Hopefully we will learn about Jesus saving us and come away from our treason together.