One of the most popular daytime TV game shows for many years was the show “Let’s Make a Deal”. It debuted on December 30, 1963 with Monty Hall as its host. He went on to host the show for almost 30 years. The premise of the show involved selected members of the audience who could earn a prize and then were enticed to exchange it for a ‘hidden’ prize that could be of much greater or lesser value.
The choice involved exchanging something known for something unknown.
The Scriptures speak of a deal or an exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21. I like to call it the Great Exchange and it summarizes the gospel message – “…God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”. Let’s identify the pronouns.
Him is Christ
us/we are believers – you and I
God made Christ to be sin for us –
Isaiah 53:4a, 6b “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering… and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.
The great result of this is that we receive the righteousness of God. Now, that is an exchange no one should refuse! There is no risk involved. Jesus took our pain and punishment and in return we are forgiven and receive eternal life. The virus that we all suffer from is sin, and Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is the only cure. I would encourage you to make sure that you have personally received the gift of eternal life through Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to make sure that you are in the faith.”
I would also encourage you to be one who shares the Good News …
2 Corinthians 5:20 – “We are Christ’s ambassadors”.
We are to share the Good News with others! In these days when we are attempting to stop the spread of Covid-19, let’s look for ways to share the good news – the gospel!! Remember to thank God this week for the Great Exchange!