Our true value

505 our true value

Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus gave humanity a value far beyond anything we could ever earn, earn, or even imagine. As the apostle Paul put it: “Yes, I count it all as loss compared to the exceeding knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost all these things, and count them as dirt, that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3,8). Paul knew that a living, deep relationship with God through Christ has infinite—inestimable—value compared to anything an empty well could ever offer. He came to this conclusion by considering his own spiritual heritage, no doubt recalling the words of Psalm 8: "What is man that you remember him, and the son of man that you take care of him?" ( psalm 8,5).

Have you ever wondered why God came in the person of Jesus as He did? Could he not have come with heavenly hosts who could have shown his power and glory? Could not he have come as a talking animal or as a superhero from the Marvel comics? But, as we know, Jesus came in the most humble way - as a helpless infant. His plan was to be killed in a terrible way. I can not but be encouraged when I think of the amazing truth that he does not need us but came anyway. We have nothing that we could give him except honor, love and gratitude.

Since God does not need us, the question of our value arises. In purely material terms, we are relatively worthless. The value of the chemicals that make up our body is about 140 francs. If we were to sell the bone marrow, our DNA and the organs of our body, the price could rise to a few million francs. But this price is not nearly comparable to our true value. As new creatures in Jesus, we are invaluable. Jesus is the source of this value - the value of a life lived in relationship to God. The triune God has called us into existence from nothing, so that we may eternally live in perfect, sacred and loving relationship with Him. This relationship is a unity and communion in which we freely and willingly receive all that God gives us. In return, we entrust to him everything we are and have.

Christian thinkers throughout the ages have expressed the glory of this love relationship in many different ways. Augustine said, "You made us your own. Our heart is restless until it rests in you". The French scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal said: "In the heart of every human being there is a void which only God himself can fill". CS Lewis said, "No one who has experienced the joy of knowing God would ever want to trade it for all the happiness in the world." He also said that we humans were made to "lust after God."

God created everything (including us humans) because "God is love," as the apostle John put it (1. John 4,8). God's love is the supreme reality - the foundation of all created reality. His love is of infinitely great value and it is his redeeming and transforming love that he brings to us and that constitutes our true value.

Let us never lose sight of the reality of God's love for us. When we are in pain, whether physical or emotional, we should remember that God loves us and will take all the pain away from his schedule. When we have sorrow, loss and sadness, we should remember that God loves us and one day will wipe away all tears.

When my children were young, they asked me why I love them. My answer wasn't that they were lovely children who were good-looking (what they were and still are). It wasn't about them being excellent students (which was true). Instead, my answer was: "I love you because you are my children!" It goes to the heart of why God loves us: "We belong to him and that makes us more valuable than we could ever imagine." We should never forget that!

Let us rejoice over our true value as the beloved of God.

Joseph Tkach

President
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL