BY GREG CRUM
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” I Peter 1:18-19
What is the most valuable commodity in the Universe? Is it gold? Diamonds? Maybe it’s an element more abundant but vital to existence, like water? No, though all of these substances are precious and highly valuable, they are not the most valuable things in existence.
So, what is it then? Well, in regards to your physical body and the continued animation of these clay jars, what’s your most valuable substance?
If you said “blood,” you get an “A” for the day! Without an adequate supply of blood these bodies cease to function, so our blood is our most precious internal commodity. That’s one reason the Bible declares there’s life in the blood. Now, building on that understanding, if our blood is the most valuable substance to our lives, what about the blood that saved us all from an eternity in Hell? It was Jesus’ blood shed for us that did that! So, what is the most valuable commodity in the Universe? Without a doubt in my mind, it is the precious blood of Christ!
Last week we played a little question-and-answer game of “What would you do?” in an effort to put perspective on how we place value on things in our lives. We determined the old economics lesson still rings true, that the ultimate value of an object is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it. The object doesn’t set its own value, and neither does the seller for that matter. Oh, how that’s good news for most of us! Too many today have a poor evaluation of themselves and others around them appraise them even less!
Along these thoughts of personal value, some time ago I caught part of a television show centered around a modern-day explorer who was trying to find the famed El Dorado. He was on dangerous roads along a high mountain pass and said, “If I make one wrong move, we’ll go from trying to find the lost city of gold to people trying to find me!” I immediately thought to myself, “You hope, maybe no one would want to find you but your wife!”
It was self-entertaining humor, and maybe a bit mean, but in reality, the road he was on was so hazardous, and the cause so lost (like, if they drove off that mountain cliff, they were not making it out alive), that I doubt many would risk their lives for his.
Now, those thoughts got me off on a bit of a tangent, thinking about the value of our lives in the eyes of others. In some ways, our value follows the rules of economics and is set by what someone is willing to pay for us or risk to “redeem” us. Think about the whole abduction and ransom racket. Our worth is set by what one would give up to get us safe in their possession again. These are humbling thoughts that our lives could be reduced to a monetary value, but this reality has been played out many times in human history. Again, our value equates to what someone, anyone, is willing to pay for us.
Do you want some good news to lighten those somber thoughts? Well, understand this, brothers and sisters: In the world, you may not have many (or any) who would give up much for you. You may not be very valuable to them, but you do have tremendous value to another. According to the principle of value set by the price of redemption, you have astronomical value to God! Think about it. What did He give up to give us the opportunity to come back to Him safe and sound? That’s right! The most valuable commodity in the Universe—the precious blood of Christ. Now, if your price was the most valuable substance in God’s Creation, and God paid it, what does that mean for your value to Him? Selah!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.