Again stepping outside my typical tradition, a friend recently shared portions a work by Gerhard Forde titled On Being a Theologian of the Cross. He writes:
The question for Luther's doctrine of atonement is thus not that of abstract payment to God but rather how God can succeed in giving himself to us so as actually to take away our sin, to destroy the barrier between us and God. This is the reason for the prominence in Luther's thought of 'the happy exchange.' Christ, through his actual coming, his cross and resurrection, takes away our sinful and lost nature and gives us his sinless and righteous nature. This cannot be an abstract metaphysical transaction. We must, through the cross of Christ, his terrible suffering and death, be actually purchased and won, indeed, killed and made alive. If it is to be a 'happy' exchange, our hearts must be captured by it.
... Christ must be one who has and bears our sins; he must actually become a curse for us to set us free from the curse of the law.
...Yet in the resurrection the divine power overcomes even death, and thus conquers, kills, devours, destroys, buries, and abolishes death, sin, the curse, the law, and all the tyrants.Wow! Powerful thoughts on this day. And more importantly, powerful actions by our God on our behalf. Thank you, Jesus, for as Forde correctly writes, "The point, however, is that Jesus put himself there willingly."
