A little old inch can make the BIGGEST impact or difference. In the event of a tie at the finish line, that runner just one inch ahead can be announced the winner. To that child who has waited in line for nearly an hour to ride the fastest, most daring ride at the amusement park and falls one inch shy of the height requirement, an inch cost him an hour of his time that day, great disappointment, and possibly a year until his family returns to try again.
Recently, an inch made quite the difference in the life of my crew, and it certainly cost someone. In an attempt to buy a few more years out of our old mattresses, I decided to purchase some memory foam mattress toppers. Because I have avoided entering stores during these days of Covid-19, I have become rather fond of the curbside pick-up option at various stores. I used this handy dandy service to order a few mattress toppers for our beds. I needed a queen, a full, and a twin. Being thrifty, I opted for the two-inch store-brand mattress toppers instead of the three-inch name-brand. When I pulled into my parking spot and checked in, I learned that the store was sold out of the two-inch store-brand full-size mattress topper. Therefore, they substituted a three-inch name-brand in its place. However, the store only charged me the price of the two-inch store-brand mattress topper I had ordered. Wow!!! I was so excited, but no one was more excited than our LilyAnn, who enjoyed reminding us of her extra inch of comfort on her newly topped full-size bed. That substitution cost the store almost half the price of that mattress topper and cost our crew a few moments of LilyAnn’s boasting and heckling. What a substitution!
That extra inch of mattress topper comfort has made quite an impact on our little fam. But, there’s another substitution that has made an even greater impact!
The Bible is full of stories where God provided substitutes for His people. One of my favorites can be found in the Old Testament in Genesis 22. God tested Abraham’s faith when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham was obedient and walked Isaac up a mountain to an altar in the region of Moriah. I can only imagine the ache in the pit of his stomach as Abraham journeyed in faith. Seeing that Abraham was willing to sacrifice anything, including his son, in obedience to the Lord, God provided a substitution to sacrifice on the altar instead. “Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in the place of his son.” (Genesis 22:13, Christian Standard Bible) Isaac’s life was spared and impacted by the substitution of a ram. Isaac’s life cost the ram its life.
Prior to Abraham and Isaac’s testimony in Genesis, we can read the story of Adam and Eve, the very first man and woman. After five days of creating light, the sky, dry land, seas, plants, trees, the sun, the moon, stars, sea creatures, birds of the air, and land animals, God made man and then woman on the sixth day, revealed in Chapter 1 of Genesis. They were created in His image. Genesis lets us know that God would create one of His masterpieces each day, then gaze upon it and enjoy it. He would name His creation and see that it was good. His creation brought God pleasure. He visited with Adam and Eve in the Garden. He delighted in walking and talking with them. God is perfect and holy. Because of His holiness, God cannot be in the presence of sin. Once Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, their sin kept them apart from God. They became aware of their sin and tried to hide from God. With Adam and Eve’s first sin, we also see the first substitution for sin. They had tried to cover their naked bodies with leaves, but Genesis 3:21 reads that God made clothing for Adam and Eve from skins. An animal was sacrificed and substituted to cover Adam and Eve.
The Old Testament includes story after story of God rescuing His people, often through substitution. The Old Testament writings lead to the greatest rescue plan and substitution of all time, which is found in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John where we can read of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection. Jesus is the Son of God, and He served as the substitute for each of us sinners. God created us, His children, for His joy and pleasure. In Colossians 1:16, we read, “For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Christian Standard Bible) Using the Bible as our standard for living and following the ways of Jesus, we commit sin when we live in a way that goes against the Lord’s teaching in His Word or example given in Jesus’ life accounts. Our sin separates us from the holy, perfect God. The Bible also teaches us that the wages of sin is death. Because He wanted a way to dwell among us and live with us forever, God birthed a rescue plan through Jesus, His one and only Son. Jesus’ sinless life was substituted for my sinfulness and yours. “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (CSB) Anytime I live outside of God’s perfect will with my thoughts, words, or actions (which is more often than I’d like to admit), I am sinning. The penalty for my sin is death – an eternal death. Yet Jesus died on the cross in my place and put my sins to death, so that I could have a relationship with God now and forever. He did that for you, too. Just as prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus rose from the dead. Romans 10:9 assures us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, WE WILL BE SAVED! Saved from the eternal death and punishment of our sins! When we believe in the substitution and sacrifice of Jesus, our lives are impacted for all of eternity. That substitution cost Jesus excruciating pain and death.
LilyAnn’s extra one inch of memory foam splendor is great! My family will not soon forget that awesome substitute that didn’t cost us nearly the expense it should have when the store was sold out of the two-inch store-brand I had ordered. But, whew!! The substitute of Jesus gifted to us by God that doesn’t cost us anything is the greatest substitution of all. I pray my family never forgets the awesomeness of that substitute and how much it cost our Lord and Savior!