Trading Places

There's this song that I hear pretty often on K Love and The Bridge FM... it's by Jeremy Camp and it's called This Man. Every lyric is speaking to the true heart and character of Jesus. There's a part this morning though, that really caught my attention. The chorus repeats the same two lines, and those two lines are:

Would you take the place of this Man?
Would you take the nails from His hands?

I started to think about those questions. I started to examine myself, and I found myself answering those questions the way I would bet most of us would answer them.

"Sure, of course I would... who wouldn't"

Well. I can tell you...

I wouldn't. 


Now, stick with me here. That statement may make some people think I am entirely blasphemous, but let's think about that for a second. There are so many reasons why I wouldn't (or couldn't) take the place of Jesus, why I wouldn't take the nails from His hands and allow them to pierce my own. The biggest reason being, I'm not Jesus. I'm a selfish, inwardly focused, sorry Human. I am 100% human. Christ, was both man and GOD. I can't put myself in His shoes and honestly sit here and tell you I would trade Him places, because I know that 1. I wouldn't be asked too 2. I wouldn't be able too. I don't have the same outlook on the world as Christ did. I, like many of you, have been jaded by the ups and downs of life. I have walked away from Christ more times than I would like to admit. I don't have the strength that Christ had, and to be honest, I'm not selfless enough. I don't love others in the same way Christ did, even though I try to every day....

So...
Could I take the pain? No way
Could I take His place? No way
Does that make me any less of a Christian? Not at all


Here's the thing... in my honest opinion... I think it takes more love for Christ, and faith in my Creator to admit that I couldn't do it. I am humbling myself this morning before the Lord and saying "Lord, I can't do what you did, so I won't even pretend like I would." It's not about whether or not I would be willing to give my life if God asked me to, the way He called Jesus to die on the Cross. It's about recognizing that there's a reason it was Jesus and not me. It's because I'm not strong enough bring salvation, grace, and forgiveness to the world. Jesus was. Jesus is. Jesus always will be.

I just have to follow Him, and continue to remind myself that the blood that was shed for me was worth more than I could ever comprehend.


Grace and Peace