The shirt was a gift for my husband’s birthday. Steve’s big day follows the fourth of July, so I chose a bright red polo as a gift to continue the patriotic theme of the week.
But there was a problem. After Steve wore the shirt once, I noticed several horizontal snags on the lower half of his shirt. He had moved the couch in our screen room and his shirt must have brushed up against the wicker causing the ugly snags.
Maybe the shirt could be fixed. I wasn’t sure what else to do. Just out of curiosity, Steve looked up the company’s return/exchange policy. We couldn’t believe it. The company was willing to refund our money or make an exchange on any purchase that wasn’t 100% satisfactory. Merchandise could be returned any time, for any reason.
We took them up on their offer and found that they stood by their policy. They took the damaged shirt, no questions asked. Because the company stood behind their merchandise, they had gained a loyal customer.
A similarity
I couldn’t help noticing an interesting parallel. God created man in His own image, and put the man and his wife into the garden of Eden to take care of it. There was only one rule:
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:16-17
But it didn’t take long for man to mess things up. The man and his wife ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. Now Adam and Eve and all their descendants would be tainted by the ugliness of sin.
How could things ever be fixed? Enter the Creator. From the beginning of time, He had a plan – an exchange policy if you will. God loved mankind so much that He was willing to redeem us:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
An amazing exchange
Much like Steve and I looked for ways to fix his snagged shirt, we often try to ‘fix’ ourselves by keeping the commandments and doing a lot of good things. We think we can secure a place in heaven if our good outweighs our bad. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We need to be familiar with God’s exchange policy found in the Bible (click to tweet).
The purpose of the ten commandments and the law is to show us we can’t keep them. Jesus Christ was the only One able to fulfill the law and live a perfect life. He died on the cross as our substitute – paying the incredible price for the sins of all mankind.
When we admit we are sinners and realize Christ paid the price for our sin debt, we can exchange the ugliness of our sin for Christ’s robe of righteousness:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness… Isaiah 61:10
Now when God sees us, He no longer sees the rags of sin, but He sees the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ. Our response will be to love and serve Him for all He has done for us.
Your turn
Are you busy trying to fix your life, thinking you can earn heaven? Will you accept Christ as your Savior today?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for the truth of Your Word. Thank You for making it possible for me to exchange my sinful condition for Your robe of righteousness. Help me share this good news with others who need to hear it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
