What are we worth?

 

I feel like we have skipped Autumn and jumped head first right into Winter! The high here in northeast Tennessee yesterday was a whopping 28 degrees.  We have pulled out the coveralls and insulated boots for our farm chores but are enjoying this season when so many things go to sleep. God in his wisdom has the sap run from the trees to preserve them for next year. The plants whither and die to drop their seeds to spring forth when the ground warms next year. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." John 12:24

 

Christ is speaking of His death and the necessity of it in order to bring life, eternal life. What truth this speaks about our own lives as well! Like seeds we must die in order to bring life. For as seeds, before our redemption we are dead. "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses," Colossians 2:13. "As I have explained on our website, closertochrist.today, our salvation is a free gift, we can do nothing to achieve it or earn it. We are also completely undeserving of redemption.

 

I cannot stand the word deserve. Society is constantly telling us what we deserve: We deserve a promotion, a new car, to be treated better, a big house, this new outfit. We deserve some pampering, a manicure and a pedicure, some time to ourselves, and on and on and on. There is nothing we deserve other than to spend eternity in hell. We do not deserve God's grace which goes against the definition of grace itself. If we deserved it would not be grace. "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6. For us to tell ourselves or even our children how exceptional we are is contrary to God's word. It teaches pride of self and value over others. When our worth is no greater and yet no less than any other soul for which Christ gave His life, and certainly not deserving.

 

Society deceives us into thinking we have tremendous value. The only value we have is in Christ Jesus. Taking pride in ourselves is to rob Christ of the work He has done in us. We are nothing and yet we are redeemed by the blood of Christ for His glory. It is even prevalent in our churches that some are valued as greater than others, when Christ in us that is the only value we have. To embrace the magnitude of what this means is to absorb down to our very soul what Christ did for us. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21. When we know Christ in His glory and begin to ruminate on what He gave up for us, who have no righteousness, we begin to move closer to Christ. We also see the value that others have. It is through Christ that our value comes, and is distributed equally among us. "Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality." Acts 10:34.

 

Our redemption price is where our value is determined. We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and His death on the cross which makes our value priceless. Just like any exquisite relic, the price is determined by what the market is willing to pay. By the creator of the universe, leaving his position of authority in glory, to endure separation from God, become our sin, and die to redeem us, that makes us the most valued commodity in the history of the world. Did we deserve it? No. But it makes our value beyond measure. Our death to ourselves and then life determined by His purpose is to what we are called. We have to stop looking at life by what we want, should have, or what society tells us we should demand. Like a seed, we must die to bring forth life. "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:27. Visualize what this means. Christ is speaking and He does not mean that we are to inconvenienced for His sake. The cross is how He knew He was going to die. No one else knew that, but He did! He was commanding that we die to ourselves. When we think about what he gave up for us, what will we give up for Him? He commands that it be everything.

 

So, to answer the question, "What are we worth?" We are worth nothing and yet we are worth everything.