July 24, 2017
“That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” Isaiah 43:4 The Message
What a way to start a day by being reminded of how much you were worth. You were worth God’s one and only Son. That happened a long time ago before you ever realized how much you were worth. And the true value of that exchange only grows deeper with time. You become keenly aware of all the little secrets inside of your life. There is that room inside your heart where you store everything and that is precisely where this one-and-only-Son makes the exchange. He’s the same Son who touched lepers .. collected a group of unremarkable men to follow Him .. fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes .. touched the untouchable .. ate with the disrespected and despised .. and restored one who rejected Him in the heat of a moment. God could have picked the flawless and finest around the world but He chose you .. picked you out of all the faces .. and traded the Creating-Son for one of His imperfect creations. He never doubted His choice of you .. never regretted the price demanded .. and never runs out of patience making you whole. When you weigh your life against the whole world you can’t possibly understand how God could love you so much. He doesn’t ask you to prove what you are worth. He doesn’t demand perfection. In fact, He doesn’t demand anything. He invites you to learn how to love the life that this one-and-only-Son is living in you. Fair trade? Hardly. But you were the only trade worth making. He’ll never refuse a trade like you. Why not? Because Jesus knows what your life looks like whole and lasting. That’s the only way to begin your day: knowing how much you are really worth. He’ll never ask for a refund. This Jesus is in it for the long haul .. as long as it takes. It only takes a moment …
“This is how much God loved the world; He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent to Son-traded lives following Jesus (kchesterp1@gmail.com)
