This week an Israeli prisoner of war was released in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Outside of the way-too-early presidential campaigning, and continuing reports of the dismal economy, the news of the exchange almost eclipsed the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, but not quite. Shouldn't this news rule the airwaves?
I am so utterly floored by the fact that a country would deem a person so valuable, they would send over 1,000 enemy combatants back to their homeland in trade for the life of this one man. As an American, I have to ask: "Am I that valuable to my country?" I don't think so. All I know is that, to God, I am that valuable.
The Bible says in John 3:16, "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" (NIV). God gave his only Son (one solitary person) to free us (the whole of humanity) from death, to spend eternal life in His presence. God exchanged his Son so that I would go back to the place I came from, not to re-arm and become a soldier fighting against His kingdom, but rather to tell others about His love and this wonderful gift of freedom.
I know its obvious but, in today's news cycle, the comparison probably won't be made. I'm thankful that today I can benefit, too, in a greater exchange. Our value, according to God, was well worth the trade for His Son's life. I am blown away by that generosity!
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