July 10, 2017

Trading

Devotion for the Week...

We've had our firewood for next winter delivered, which means our backyard looks like this.
Firewood | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com

Every year when the big truck comes and I'm left staring at that huge pile of wood, all I can think is, "I have wood, anyone have sheep to trade?" That only makes sense to you if you've played Settlers of Catan...otherwise you probably think I'm crazy 😊 In the game you're trying to build roads, settlements and cities, all of which require certain combinations of resources (cards that you pick up as the game goes along). Players are allowed to trade resources, which is great because sometimes you have an abundance of wood and no sheep so you can't build that settlement you've been eyeing, and trading can help make it happen.

Of course, humans have been trading things forever. Payment "in kind" used to be a common thing, meaning you could pay with the vegetables from your garden or the eggs from your chickens or whatever else you had. Even today we are really just trading our money for the things we want to buy.

When you're considering a trade (in a game or with your money), you have to look at what you're giving up and what you'll be getting in return. Then you decide if the trade is worth it to you. We've all said something like, "I'm not paying that much for that!" or "I'd love to have it, but I just can't see spending that much money on it." On the other hand, we've also all said, "It was such a good deal, I just couldn't pass it up!"

What you may never have considered is that God made a trade for us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is probably one of the most well-known verses in the Bible and for good reason. It sums up salvation perfectly.

God so loved the world...this is what God was going to get in return for this trade. Not the physical world, but the population of the world. God loved (and still loves) the people He created so much that He was willing to trade Jesus in order to provide a way for our salvation.

that he gave his one and only Son...just think about the cost of salvation for a moment. Jesus gave up being in heaven and came to earth as a human being, making Himself subject to emotional hurts and physical pain. Think about how much of both He endured as He paid the price for our salvation.

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We had no part in making the trade, but we definitely benefit from it. Whoever believes really means that anyone is welcome to benefit from the trade that God made for us. As soon as you believe that Jesus came to earth and died for your sins, you receive the eternal life that God gives to everyone who believes.
Weekly devotions on Christian living | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
The amazing thing about this is that God considered it all beforehand. He knew what would happen while Jesus was on earth. He knew the cost of the trade. And He knew what He would get in exchange for the trade (us!). Knowing all of that, He considered what He got in return to be worth what He gave up. We were worth the cross.

Aren't you glad He made the trade for us?

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