Some friends shared some images of their recent Alaskan cruise on social media. That got me thinking of the Alaska Purchase – where the USA purchased Alaska from Russia. The price in 1867 was $7.2 million, a real bargain. That led me to think of other great transfer stories.
Most North Americans are familiar with the Louisiana Purchase, in which France transferred land to the US for $15 Million. In a series of purchases, the US bought ½ of what was then Mexico.
The buying and selling of countries and territories has been going on for centuries. It’s not just an American thing. Countries have been the subject of transfers since near the beginning of time.
It’s certainly not an everyday occurrence, but it is far from being without precedent. There is a great transfer that is mind-boggling in scope. It’s an event that happened at a specific point in time but is still happening today.
And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Colossians 1:21-23
By the grace of God, through what Christ accomplished, sinners are transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of Light. We go from being rebellious sinners to children of God. We are no longer slaves to sin but covered under the imputed righteousness of Jesus.
I sometimes think we really don’t understand how powerful a transaction that was. God, the offended party, stepped in to free those who committed the offense. By His own blood, He redeems people who were His enemies. He pays our price.
We’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it. We can’t save up enough good deed points to pay our own way. We are lost forever, separated by nature and choice from the one who loves us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Inconceivable? Unbelievable? Mind blowing? Yes! Yet equally as true. It is the ultimate Great Transfer.
That’s the reality of the gospel, the good news, the euangelion that the Scriptures proclaim and believers testify to. In one agonizing event, people from every tribe, tongue and age were transferred from darkness to light, a process that continues today.
Praise God that you have been transferred to His family and tell others that hope is open to them as well.
Be blessed
Kevin
SUMMARY
The greatest “purchase” in history isn’t a territorial transaction but the redemption of sinners by Christ — who, at infinite personal cost, transferred His enemies from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Unlike the Louisiana or Alaska Purchases, this transaction was paid not with gold but with the blood of God Himself, and its effects continue to unfold in every generation.
KEY POINTS
The Price Was Staggering — While the Alaska Purchase cost $7.2 million and the Louisiana Purchase $15 million, the redemption of sinners cost the Son of God His life — paid on behalf of people who were His enemies and had done nothing to earn it.
The Transfer Is Total — Through Christ’s death, believers move from alienation and guilt to being presented before God as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach — a transformation no human effort or accumulated merit could ever achieve.
The Transaction Is Still Open — This redemption, accomplished at a specific moment in history, continues to be applied today across every tribe, tongue, and generation, making the proclamation of the gospel an urgent and ongoing mission.
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