嘉鴻在跟朋友玩耍的時候，不小心撕破一張十元的紙鈔。他爸爸不但沒有責罵他，還從錢包裡拿一張新的鈔票，跟他交換那張破損的紙鈔。

嘉鴻困惑地問：「你為什麼願意這麼做？」爸爸說：「首先，因你是我兒子。其次這是一個提醒，耶穌也曾為我們這樣做。祂來到世上，犧牲了祂的生命以換取我們的生命，好讓我們能擁有全新的生命。」

每個人的生命對上帝來說都極其珍貴，因祂創造每一個人。但我們的罪性──受到罪轄制的「罪身」（羅馬書6章6節），使我們無法活出符合上帝聖潔標準的生命。所以上帝出於對我們無比的愛，甘願犧牲祂的愛子，為我們的罪付代價。我們舊的生命已和基督同死，祂賜給我們新生命作為交換，「叫我們不再作罪的奴僕」（6節）。當我們接受上帝所賜的新生命時，即使我們舊的生命有罪且敗壞，曾「因私慾的迷惑漸漸變壞」（以弗所書4章22節），如今也會漸漸被更新，成為「照著上帝的形象造的，有真理的仁義和聖潔」（24節）。

嘉鴻的父親因愛嘉鴻，願意將自己擁有的給了他。而上帝給我們的更寶貴，祂拯救我們，賜給我們新生命。當我們接受祂所賜的新生命，我們就跟從前不一樣了。

Elijah had accidentally ripped a ten-dollar bill while playing with his friends. But instead of admonishing him, his father offered to exchange the torn bill with a fresh one from his wallet.

“Why would you do that?” Elijah asked, confused. “For one, you’re my son,” his father explained. “It’s also a reminder of what Jesus did for us. Because Jesus came and gave His life in exchange for ours, we can now live new lives.”

Every human life is valuable to God because He created each of us. But our sinful nature—“the body ruled by sin” (Romans 6:6)—keeps us from living a life worthy of God’s holiness. So God, in His great love for us, willingly gave up His Son to pay the price of our sin. Our old self was put to death, and in exchange, He offers us a new one—“no longer . . . slaves to sin” (v. 6). When we accept God’s offer of new life, we can be assured that even though our old self was sinful and broken—“corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22), we are now being perfected “to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (v. 24).

Elijah’s father was willing to offer him something of his own because he loves him. But the even better offer is the one God extends to us: the redemption of our lives. When we accept His offer of new life, we aren’t the same as we were before.