This piece is all about how christ died for us on the cross and that he didn't do it for no reason. It says in the poem only one of the two broken bodies is still living. Think on this. If only one can live at a time then how many of us were dead before he came to take our place? Tender mercies are traded for my life means more than he died for me. It means that in order for us to live God had to give up more than just a life. He had to give up a leader, a savior, a hero, and a son, to save a race that he knew could never fathom love for what it was until they were already with him. Think about just how much he loves us to go thru all that loss to save such people as ouselves.