What’s it Worth?

 

My husband enjoys economics as a hobby. (As I was putting my daughter to bed one night when she was five she said to me, “Daddy’s odd isn’t he?”) Because of this hobby these are interesting times for him. He’s preparing to teach a Sunday school class on the subject and was running some essential truths of economics by me after some studying.

It is interesting to me to think that money – and everything else – only has value as we impute it. If we were to see a dollar as having no value so we didn’t use it – then it would have no value.

He explained to me that we use economic terms to talk about our salvation. Though I had heard the terms used I had not really thought about it. We were bought at a price. We have been redeemed. Christ paid the debt for our sin. These are terms we can relate to purchases and spending as well as our salvation.

When we look at our faith, our salvation, in the light of these biblical descriptions of it we see the value that God has imputed onto our lives –each one individually. He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to save us from our sins – to redeem us from the debt to sin that we have lived in!

I cannot imagine that God would place such a high value on my life that He would allow His own Son to die for me but that is the truth. His punishment on the cross paid the debt for my pride, my lies, my gossip, my greed, and all the rest of my sin. The Bible says that if we say we have no sin then we are calling God a liar and deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:8,10). No one can say this truth is not for them, that Christ did not die for their sin. We all have it and He died once for all people (Hebrews 9:26, “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”).

So many resist the truth that we are sinners in need of a Savior and that God has provided the Savior. Oh, many go to church, get confirmed or baptized, and try to keep from being too bad but never repent of sin by inviting Jesus to be a personal Savior. That would be accepting and understanding not just the value that God places on our lives but the value that we place on our sin. For me it was initially hard to ask Jesus to be my Savior because I valued my sin. The truth is that it was more important to me than God was. How sad is that to have to admit?

What value are you and I placing on our sin today? Is it easier to keep Jesus at arm’s length than to admit the sin and ask Him to take the punishment? It might seem like it but look at and consider the value that God has placed on our lives. As His children, saved by the grace of His payment of our sin debt, we can see all that He offers. He calls it the abundant life. This isn’t necessarily financially abundant but God promises love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self – control to those that will value salvation more than sin, who believe that Jesus death was in their place. These are great things that I can’t imagine anyone turning down.

 So, today, for God’s children, we need to take a close study of the value we have placed on the sin in our own lives. What have we been unwilling to give up (which says to God that we value it more than Him)? Is that sin really worth the value we’ve given it?

For those today who are still living in sin because it seems better than following God I will suggest a re-evaluation of priorities. This may seem like a hard decision but consider the facts. If we ask Jesus to let His death pay the price for our sin and then follow Him as our Lord, we live in heaven for eternity. If we do not then we must pay that debt to God ourselves at judgment after death from earth. Those will live separated from God in hell for eternity. John 3:16-18 will verify this for you.

SO, what is it worth to you to stay in sin? Do we really believe that God values our lives? As for me, I will ask God to show me my sin so that I can confess it and show Him the value I want to place on HIM.

Lord, help me to value You and Your love for me more than I value my own sinful desires and wants.