Reversal of Fortunes
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:5–10
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Reversal of Fortunes
We deserve death, yet we are given life. We deserve the fires of hell yet look to an eternal paradise in the new heaven and new earth. Why all of these turnarounds? What is the source of these reversals of fortune? The world, the devil, and our sinful nature want to convince us that it is our good works that have brought about these blessings. They whisper in our ears that we can be masters of our own destinies and that with a little hard work and effort we can have anything we want, what’s more, is that we actually deserve these things. But when we are honest and we took into the mirror of the Law we see just the opposite. We are not good. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves, we have not put God before all things, nor have we upheld His holy commandments. No, the truth is that our great reversal of fortune came because of Christ’s great exchange with us. Our immortal God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, laid aside His divine powers for a time and wrapped Himself in the weakness of our human form, becoming fully human like us in every way except without sin. He took on pain, hunger, and suffering so that we could have joy, fullness, and relief. He took on our sin and exchanged it for His righteousness. The King of kings wore a crown of thorns so we might don the crown of life. We have life because Christ submitted to the will of the Father, even unto death.
James 4:5–10
+
Reversal of Fortunes
We deserve death, yet we are given life. We deserve the fires of hell yet look to an eternal paradise in the new heaven and new earth. Why all of these turnarounds? What is the source of these reversals of fortune? The world, the devil, and our sinful nature want to convince us that it is our good works that have brought about these blessings. They whisper in our ears that we can be masters of our own destinies and that with a little hard work and effort we can have anything we want, what’s more, is that we actually deserve these things. But when we are honest and we took into the mirror of the Law we see just the opposite. We are not good. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves, we have not put God before all things, nor have we upheld His holy commandments. No, the truth is that our great reversal of fortune came because of Christ’s great exchange with us. Our immortal God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, laid aside His divine powers for a time and wrapped Himself in the weakness of our human form, becoming fully human like us in every way except without sin. He took on pain, hunger, and suffering so that we could have joy, fullness, and relief. He took on our sin and exchanged it for His righteousness. The King of kings wore a crown of thorns so we might don the crown of life. We have life because Christ submitted to the will of the Father, even unto death.
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