The death camp in Auschwitz became the killing centre during WWII where the largest numbers of European Jews were murdered by the Nazis. One Christian man who died here became a martyr to the truth of evils of Nazism – a true hero for our time, a saint who lived what he preached, total love toward God and man. His name was Maximilian Kolbe.

He was a Polish priest who died as prisoner 16770 in Auschwitz, on August 14, 1941. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape. One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to cry: My wife! My children! I will never see them again! At this Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted…

The truth from Scripture is Christ traded spaces with us on the cross. He died in our place, for our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

But if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, you only believe one-half of the Gospel. The other half of the Gospel is the fact that Christ fulfilled God’s standard perfectly.  He lived a perfect life. He was 100% righteous. So, had Christ been 90% righteous or 80% righteous, His sacrifice would not meet God’s demands. He had to and was 100% righteous.

So, once you bow your knee to Christ and ask Him to come into your life to take residence, then the righteousness of Christ is imputed into your life. That means when God sees you, He sees Jesus and His perfect character. This is only able to take place because of the power of Jesus’ resurrection.

That’s the power that can renovate our minds and hearts today and that will one day completely renovate and restore our sin-torn bodies into glorified bodies that will live forever in heaven. I think many of us remember the show Extreme Home Makeover, where a group of designers and builders renovate the home of a worthy family. In the end, the family receives a “new” home which best meets their needs.

In the same way, the resurrection of our lives is the final hope of every Christ-follower. It is the “final reveal” of God’s design and renovation: the perfection of our mind, body, and spirit.

Imagine what that will be like when on the other side of the grave, God says to you, “Okay, open your eyes and see your new space.” What will it be like when you open your eyes in a resurrected, recreated body and dwell in a completely new space that you will inhabit for eternity?

It will be the perfect space, designed by the perfect Designer (God the Father), rebuilt by the perfect Carpenter (Jesus Christ) and purchased at the ultimate cost (Christ’s precious blood). But you’ve got to make the choice.

It reminds me of how we try and live out our lives. We can try to work our way to heaven using the rubble of our own works and sin or we can let the Carpenter renovate our lives into the perfect space for Him to bless and use?