What value does a person, namely a Christian, have? Lots. We are made in the image of God; we’re unique in that we were made to look like him in some respect; Christians, even more so. As creatures, we’re loved above the rest of creation by God. For Christians, unlike the angels who fell, God set into action a plan to rescue us from the dismal failure we created; we’re favored even more highly than the angels. Diamonds are just rocks, but people desperately want them—and so they are valuable. Diamonds are made valuable by those who value them. In much the same way, our value is made by God’s value of us.
Yet somehow, in spite of the knowledge of God giving his completely innocent son to rescue the guilty parties, we still fail to see our chief value in God’s valuing us. Instead we misplace that value into other things; relationships, work, ministry, etc. All the while, the pinnacle of our value has already been reached in Christ. Should the whole world reject us, it’s of no real consequence because the living God has accepted us (Romans 8:1).
Dr. Larry Crabb puts it well saying:
“It is true that Christians are fully accepted by God because of Jesus’ shed blood. For us, there is now no condemnation. But somehow we fail to grasp that God’s acceptance makes anyone else’s rejection no more devastating than a misplaced dollar would be to a millionaire. We foolishly believe that other people’s acceptance represents a legitimate measure of our value. We fear the rejection of people and therefore hide from them.”
I realize in my own life my personal value that I foolishly misplace and put in people’s opinions of me, or in the success of what I set out to do. This naturally cultivates fear in me that Christ’s love stands to cast out (1 John 4:18). When we (and I especially) can live without that fear we’ll find greater freedom to love others selflessly according to the commands of our Lord.
Jesus, help me to place my own value squarely in you. Jesus, I pray for the church that we, together, would stop looking in other things, for what can only truly be found in you. Holy Spirit, strengthen and sanctify us, for the sake of your glory. God, get your glory!
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Tags: Christianity, faith, God, Holy Spirit, humanity, Jesus, love, Religion, value
