BY GREG CRUM
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46
Is there anything in this world you would sell everything you own for the opportunity to have in your possession? And I do mean everything—home, cars, every last stitch of clothing, all the food in your refrigerator. All that and every last cent you have in the bank or under the bed. Anything you’d give all that for? Probably not, right? At least not for a “thing.”
What about for a loved one though? Would you pay all you had as a ransom for a kidnapped family member? I know some people that would. Why? Because they love those people; they are precious in their sight. To them they are more valuable than all the material possessions in the world, let alone the little bit they are blessed to hold in account.
Now, unfortunately, there are people who have had to do just this. They’ve had to pay it all to receive a loved one back from those that had stolen them away. Yet, having to pay all they did, they still didn’t pay as much as our Heavenly Father, who gave the most precious commodity of His Kingdom, His Son, as a ransom for our redemption.
Last week we spoke of how precious we are in God’s eyes. We reminded ourselves of a fundamental principle of economics, that the value of a good or service is determined by what one is willing to pay for it. We concluded that we must be tremendously valuable to God and to Jesus. They paid the highest price conceivable so that we would have the opportunity to have a relationship with them. Justified? Are we really worth that? While it doesn’t make sense, seeing how horrible mankind can be, in God’s perspective, I guess you’d have to say, “Yes.” He’s the one that paid the price, so He’s the one that gets to say how valuable we are.
So, we are precious in God’s eyes. I say that, you’ve sung that as a youth in Sunday School, but can we prove that? Absolutely! We can prove it by the Word! The Bible declares our worth to God as it reveals the great lengths that He has gone to give us the opportunity for a great life here and eternal life hereafter. In John 15:12-16, Jesus tells us that he sought us out. He loved us so much that he stepped out of Heaven and came looking for us. He didn’t wait around for us to figure out how to get to him, his love for us compelled him to leave the glory of Heaven and seek us in our lost state.
What’s more, in Jeremiah 29:11, we read that God valued us enough to craft a great life for us in the here and now. Think about that. We are each precious enough to the Almighty that He took the time to plan out a best life for us. Most won’t give you the time of day; God took the time to plan out the best path for you for every day of your life.
Need some more proof of God’s high value of us? In II Peter 1:2-4 and in Romans 8:28-32, we read that God continually pours His resources into our lives. There it states that He gives us “exceeding great and precious promises” and that since He’s already given us Jesus, nothing else is off the table; all His goodness can be ours.
Brothers and sisters, God values us, and always will, more than we are worth based on our face value, or the value other people place on us, or the value most of us place on ourselves. He knows all about us, every flaw, and He still loves us anyway. We must truly be precious in His sight!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.