I'll Trade You

One day last week after school, while Trudy was working grading papers, she was approached by a little girl. She introduced herself as Kareen and said, "Look, I've got two shiny pennies."

Trudy looked at them and agreed that they were pretty, but then said, "I'll trade you."

Kareen looked at her. "What will I get for them."

"Trust me." Trudy assured her. "You'll like it."

The girl placed the pennies in Trudy's hand to have them replaced by two nickels. She looked at them in amazement.

Trudy offered another bargain. "I'll trade you." She said.

"But what will I get for them?" Kareen asked.

"Trust me." Trudy replied. "You'll like it."

Kareen handed over the nickels and Trudy placed two $1 bills in her hand. Kareen was astonished.

Kareen was putting into practice a saying which she may never have heard, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." What she wanted was some sort of a guarantee. She wanted to be sure that the birds in the bush, which were not a sure thing, were worth the bird in her hand, which was a sure thing. Even though she was promised that she would like it, she was still uncertain. In order to get those two birds, she'd have to let go of the one she already had. She wanted to know what she was going to get if she gave up here two shiny pennies.

That's normal behavior. "I'll swap ya'." is a phrase we often hear when we have something that someone else would like to have and wants to trade. What is our first response? "What'll ya give me for it?" That's what we want to know. We want to know what he is going to give us for our precious bauble. We want to see it, examine it, and evaluate its worth to decide whether or not we are going to get a good bargain. If what we are getting is worth more to us than what we are holding, we're liable to take the deal. If we are unsure, or don't estimate the value of what we are getting to be greater than what we are holding, we're going to decline the offer.

God has given us such an offer. He has said that he will trade our current sinful, condemned life for a new one, full of the blessings and promises of God, at the end of which we will spend an eternity with him sin-free and at peace.

We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and the penalty for our sin is death (Romans 6:23), eternal punishment and separation from him (Matthew 25:41-46; John 3:16-18). This is what we have. This is the "bird in the hand" that we carry along with all of the baggage that comes with it. We are worldly people, looking out for ourselves with a desire only to get for ourselves the things that will please us. Even the good that we do comes with an ulterior motive that is selfish on some level (Isaiah 64:6). There are none who do good and do not sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8).

Sin is not without certain pleasures that our flesh takes delight in (Hebrews 11:25). Drugs, pornography, the excessive use of alcohol, revenge, affairs of the heart outside marriage, making yourself look superior at the expense of someone else, and all of the other things that make us feel good, but violate the laws of God and our conscious. In the end, this bird promises only separation from God. This is the bird that we carry in the hand, so afraid to part with and which puts us at odds with God.

What is God offering us in trade for this bird? What are the "two in the bush" that we could have if we only let go of the one we have in possession? We can have reconciliation with God and direct access to him at any time and become full citizens of his kingdom (Ephesians 2:14-19; Revelation 21:1-5). We can have all of the baggage that we were carrying with the old bird completely removed from our lives and be given a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17). He promises that our sins, our offenses against God, will be so completely forgiven that they will never trouble or threaten us again (Psalm 103:8-15; 1 John 1:9; Colossians 1:12-14).

We have our guarantee of what we will receive if we give up our bird, our old life of sin, and reach out for the two birds, forgiveness and life eternal. Why, then, is it so hard for many of us? Is it because we can't immediately see the reward? For it is an act of faith that we willingly let go of a life our flesh enjoys and desires for the promise of a future happiness that we will not be able to fully enjoy until after we die. We cannot examine the proposed trade outside of the Word of God and decide with our earthly eyes whether or not the deal is worth it to us.

We must accept God and his promises on his own terms, which are really quite reasonable. His terms are that we accept eternal life with faith as a gift, unattainable any other way (Romans 5:15; Ephesias 2:8; Romans 6:23).

Mark 1:14-16 is the story of how Andrew and Simon began their following of Jesus. Luke 5:1-11 is a similar story of how Peter, James and John started their discipleship. The account in Luke includes more detail, indicating that Jesus had been preaching in the area and the fishermen were cleaning their nets. Jesus stepped into Simon-Peter's boat and instructed him to go out into the water. Peter told him that they hadn't caught anything all day, but on his word, they would go out. The catch was so large his boat could not contain it.

Matthew's bird in the hand was that of a tax collector. He was in a lucrative, albeit unpopular profession. He was in charge of collecting tax money for the government, and they were notorious for collecting more than was due. Matthew also left his highly paid position to follow Jesus.

These men were with Jesus for about 3 years during his earthly ministry. Peter, James and John are noted for being the closest to him, especially John. They heard him preach, the saw him perform miracles, they watched as he coufounded the scribes and pharisees who sought to trap him, they participated in the spreading of the good news of the gospel, some where present when he was taken and executed and all saw his risen body. Tremendous, wonderful things to behold as they witnessed the fulfillment of old testament prophecy about the coming Messiah.

After Jesus left them, with instructions to spread the gospel around the world, they continued in faith to do as they were told. According to a combination of Biblical and historical accounts, each of the twelve disciples died a martyer, often horrible, excrutiating deaths, with the exception of John, who was exiled. What could possibly cause these men to stay with their story and die in such a manner unless they had already gained possession of the two birds.

Kareen had her pennies traded in for nickels, and nickels for dollars. Jesus' disciples traded in their old sinful, unproductive lives for glory unspeakable by exercising faith in Christ. Although they were persecuted ruthlessly and killed, they never wanted their pennies back because they believed in the promises of their savior.