Each year, the NBA presents the Sixth Man of the Year Award. If you’re curious, players like Lamar Odom, Jason Terry, Ty Lawson, and J.R. Smith are among the candidates for this year’s award. This award is presented to a player who does not start, yet his contributions to the team are invaluable. In other words, the Sixth Man Award will be presented to the best substitute: the player who replaces starters and maintains the same level of productivity.
As I thought about the Sixth Man Award, I realized that Jesus is the ideal substitute. I went to biblegateway.com last night, and the verse included with this email was on the home page. The message is the same – Jesus is the ideal substitute. He was our substitute, bearing the sin and agony we deserved, just so we could live. We were in the starting lineup for destruction, but He took our place and opened the door to eternal life.
Aren’t you glad you didn’t get what you really deserved? Imagine how miserable life would be if we had to pay the price for sin. Unbearable, right? Thank you Jesus for being our substitute!