The Labor of Love
Topic: Faith

Theologians have long sought a satisfactory answer to a slightly misunderstood question.  When Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, how, and to whom was the payment made?  The Father commanded that Jesus should go to the cross because our sin presented such an affront that only a perfect sacrifice could suffice to offset the offensiveness before a holy God. So why and how did God receive an acceptable settlement for our sin from what must also have been a sacrifice on His part, namely watching His only-begotten son die a criminal’s death for the unworthy creation He loved.

 

This query cannot be answered within this limited frame of reference because the question is flawed by the lack of context.  Fortunately, we can better understand the question and thereby perceive the answer by examining God’s economy.  We can do that by borrowing the first of three economic principles written by Adam Smith.  Smith informs us that money has no intrinsic value.  He wrote that the only value that can be assigned to money, or to any other good or service is the value of a person’s labor.  Now we can see that paper money is worth only the value assigned to it by hourly wage as easily as we witness inflation. Adam Smith assures us that the same is true of silver and gold.  Gold is only worth its weight in gold unless someone is willing to work for it.

 

So how does labor-assigned value relate to the atonement made by Jesus on the cross?  When Jesus died on the cross he did not simply pay for our sins, more importantly, he set the price.  His labor of sacrifice established inestimable, unmistakable, and permanent value.  Let us examine those things to which his death assigned this unprecedented value.

 

First, Jesus’ death showed the inestimable and permanent value of a right relationship with God the Father.  By remaining obedient to his Father, Jesus demonstrated that his relationship with his Father was worth his very life.  That was what he traded in obeying the wishes of his Father.  Jesus made a distinct impression on the apostles in so doing.  Like him, most of them also exchanged their lives to obey God, their heavenly Father.  Subsequently, unnumbered martyrs have followed his example when their lives were required in obedience to the God they loved.  Even today in some parts of the world Christians still forfeit their lives rather than disobey or disavow the God who loves them.

 

Second, his death unmistakably set the price of sin.  Finally people could see that sin required more than just the death of the offending sinner.  Now we know that sin is so antithetical to God’s holiness that it requires a perfect sacrifice.  The payment for our sin imposed on a perfect person a sacrifice so terrible that the most abject sinner and the most plebian sinner must take notice and begin to understand how great a debtor they must be.

 

Third, Jesus’ death declared the inestimable value that God places on each of us.  The love which God shows to us in exchanging Jesus’ life to offer us a right relationship with Him cannot be compared to any earthly love.  John 3:16 and 17 tells us everything we need to know about this rate of exchange.

 

Now, as any wise shopper will tell you, no price is truly set by a tag or a manufacturer’s recommendation.  People do not consider full price the true value if some bargain hunter still thinks they can find a discount somewhere, it’s just part of our human nature.  Some Old Testament followers openly showed their desire to stay on the cheaper annual installment plan when it came to paying for sin.  Jesus knew the Father’s answer about paying the full price when he asked about letting the cup pass.  In order to set a price as a known quantity, someone must pay the price.

 

So when someone asks how God was recompensed for the cost of your sin by accepting the death of His son on the cross, the answer is simpler than you might think.  Remember John 3:16 and recall that you were bought with a price.  God asked the price, and Jesus paid it, not simply because it was due, but because it had to become set. This imponderable and incomparable price has become permanently, inestimably and unmistakably set for all people by Jesus’ own labor of love.  It is the labor of love that no one else could undertake.  His obedient labor established forever the values which only God could assign.

Econ for Educators
Topic: Education

An open letter to local educators:

As a former teacher, I know that most educators don't study economics unless they plan to teach business or social studies.  Therefore, it seems likely that many teachers and administrators may miss a few interesting tidbits about economics, including those related to the teaching profession.

First, it seems important that teachers and administrators remember that a school holds tremendous monopoly power compared to other local businesses.  Many communities without parochial education experience the effects of this monopoly.  Business leaders often complain that recent graduates lack the skills needed to build local business and that the schools prepare too many of the brightest students to leave the community for college rather than to stay and succeed in local companies.  

These complaints seem to fall on deaf ears because present-day school administrators answer largely to state authorities and less specifically to their local board.  Board members are also currently encouraged to attend to state requirements rather than thinking locally.  The lack of educational alternatives in many communities exacerbates these perceptions by strengthening the real and perceived monopoly power of the local schools.

Second, as an economic developer, I find that business leaders wish that school administrators and teachers would remember a few important things about improving the local economy.
A school can only increase local tax revenue (and educator salaries) by a few means:  1. by soliciting increased tax rates while hoping not to drive away too many property owners over time,  2. by providing outstanding general education to children and managing the regional perception of the school to increase the value and attractiveness of the community in hopes that resulting strong growth will lift everyone's economic situation, or 3. by training and teaching students to succeed in specific existing local businesses and adding direct value to the community and its tax base year after year.

Obviously, I recommend choices two and three in combination.  As a former educator, I know that a well-rounded education seems infinitely preferable to specific training for a local industry.  That said, the business community has a point in asserting that too little of the current primary and secondary school curriculum adds value to the local economy through students.  Educators need to consult business leaders about curriculum now more than ever if our communities and graduates hope to stay competitive in a global economy.  I only hope it is not too late for educators to think globally and act locally.  Any educator willing to take up this challenge may do so easily by joining their local P-20 council to solicit curriculum ideas directly from local business owners.

Norm Lucas