The Divine Exchange - part one

THE DIVINE EXCHANGE - part one

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters ‑ yes, even his own life ‑ he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

                                                                                                                  Luke 14 : 25 ‑ 33

The modern version of the gospel does not recognize the revolutionary aspect of these words of Jesus. If I were to ask the normal Christian on the street if he thought Jesus had said these words (given that we left out the fact that they were from the Bible) he would probably say that Jesus would never say such things. The idea of a gospel that costs anything, much less "everything" does not suit the modern believer. We have been steeped in a philosophy that has taken the ethical demands of the Lord and in effect thrown them out the window. We are sold a free gospel that gives free grace and all we need do is accept it.

In my few short years of living I have learned a few things. In observing people I have seen that the surface value they ascribe to something is not always the real value they hold it in. You can always tell how valuable or dangerous something is perceived to be by the way someone protects it. If we think something is relatively worthless we don't bother to protect it. If we feel it is harmless we don't put it away in a safe place.

We can see plainly what we believe about something by the way we act with it. Simple principle, yet profound when it is applied.

The gospel is not today nor has it ever been "free" in the sense that it cost or costs nothing. It cost God His only son. It cost Jesus his life. It will cost us ours to follow him. He directly said it would six times in the Bible.

1. Matthew 10:39
   Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
2. Matthew 16:25
   For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
3. Mark 8:35
   For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
4. Luke 9:24
   For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
5. Luke 17:33
   Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
6. John 12:25
   He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

The Gospel is only "free" in that no amount of money, effort, good deeds or anything else can purchase it. It is a gift. But it is a gift that requires a response. Like any gift, when we receive it we take responsibility for it. Every gift requires something of the giver but also something from the one to whom it is given. 


The gift costs us nothing in the sense that we cannot purchase the love that is shared with us. But this same gift becomes our responsibility to care for. The more we value it the more responsibly we will care for it. 

Jesus told us plainly that if we held onto our own lives and did not take the gift He offers we would lose even that which we thought we were keeping. By not meeting the demand of His life to lose our own we lose both.

But look at what He said would be ours if we do lay our lives down in love for Him. It is more wonderful than anything we could know without Him. 


We miss this part of the equation. In His words here we have the greatest opportunity anyone could ever have. We can exchange our lives for His. It is not a religious obligation. It is the most wonderful gift anyone could imagine. God’s life in full measure and all we have to do is give Him ours.

But what does it mean to lose our lives for God? It is really so very simple. That is not to say it is easy. But it is simple. We lose our lives for God when we care more about Him than we do about ourselves. And that is the irony. The more we care about ourselves the less we have of Him and of others. The more we care about Him the more we have of Him and others.

But isn’t that the way it is? Is that not clear to all of us? I look out for number one and pretty soon the only one there is concerned for number one is me. I look out for others and soon I have many who are also looking out for me.

I spend my life’s energy on myself and soon, like a prodigal wasting what was not his anyway, I end up not even eating what pigs eat. 


I spend my life’s energy on God and soon the windows of heaven are pouring out a life giving blessing that I have to give away because I can’t contain it.

No this is not about a God that is seeking to deprive, take for Himself or restrict me. This is the life giving God who knows how the world actually works.

The heart that seeks itself dies with each selfish act. It gains the whole world but loses itself.

The heart that seeks the One who created it finds life and that more abundantly in a wonderful exchange. Our weakness for His strength. Our poverty for His wealth. Our lives for His life.