Exchange Rate


Having not long celebrated Easter, I have been thinking a lot over the last few weeks about the cross, and what happened there.   I have been considering what Jesus accomplished and what it means for us to live in light of the resurrection.  

You may have heard the expression 'the divine exchange'.  It's a great way to express what happened. It talks about all that Jesus gave to us, and all he took from us, and it's this I want to think about this for a couple of weeks on my blog.

Today the aspect that I want to mention is that Jesus became forsaken for us so that we would be accepted.  He became alone so that we would be included.  He was left so that we would be rescued. 

The older I get, the more I realise that Christians don't walk in very much of what God has purchased for us.  Since the pandemic lockdowns started I have heard so many people say how lonely they are.  I do understand that being isolated from everyone else in person is challenging, but we profess to have Jesus in our hearts and the Holy Spirit within us.   We are promised that because of the cross God will never leave us or forsake us. 

There are times in my life, when despite being married, or being with family, I have felt lonely or isolated in my heart, but I recognize now that the root of that is not sharing my life with Jesus.  It's about becoming insular and independent.  

I believe that we can avoid feeling lonely when we walk with Jesus consistently and in intimacy.  This is possible because of the exchange rate at the cross.  

You know how you have to work out how many dollars or euros you get for your pound when you go away.  This is what we have to reckon when we think about the cross.  What was the exchange rate.  In this case, the exchange rate was:

The presence of God in exchange FOR
all the loneliness and isolation of all mankind.

The pandemic has not thrown God.  He wasn't shocked and he hasn't left us.  He is with us, in us and he has a plan for each day.  He can meet all our needs in Christ, no matter what they are! 

Today my challenge is to all of us who feel alone, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. It is to remind ourselves that at the cross Jesus made away to live always with and in us.   When we feel alone we need to connect ourselves to that truth, meditate on it, worship God and remind ourselves of the exchange rate.




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