“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
Recently I came across an old hymn that was set to new music:
“Upon a Life I have not lived,
Upon a Death I did not die,
Another’s Life; Another’s Death,
I stake my whole eternity.
Jesus, Son of God, I build on what Thy cross has done for me;
There both my death and life I read, my guilt, and pardon there I see.”
(“Upon a life I did not live” by Horatius Bonar)
It made me think of 2 Corinthians 5:21, one of my favorite verses. God exchanges our sinful record for Jesus’ perfect record so that we can be credited with the righteousness of God. The word-picture that the hymn writer paints has caused me to freshly think about the verse: looking at the cross, I see both the death I deserve and the righteousness that He gives me. He has not only paid my debt, bringing me to “zero”, but Jesus’ perfectly lived human life fills my account! Lord, give me grace to let the good news of this trickle down into every part of my heart!