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I know this might sound strange, but have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “Just how important and valuable am I?” When you first read that it might seem like a self-serving question. It might even come across as a pretty arrogant question. If you’re someone who tries to be humble it might be a question that you wouldn’t even think to ask yourself. Then again, if you are someone pretty full of yourself you might chuckle and immediately say, “I am pretty important. I am very valuable.” If you’re that person, you might even be taken aback by the notion that the question would even need to be asked in the first place as if the answer is quite obvious. Believe it or not, the person who thinks like that would actually be right…just not for the reason you might think. So, let’s dive into this.
No matter what your personality is I want you to stop and think about these questions for a moment. “How important are you? How valuable are you?” As you think that through I am sure many things tied to your value will come to mind. If you’re a boss, you might think you’re pretty valuable to those who look to you for direction. If you’re a parent, you might think you are pretty valuable to your kids. If you’re a spouse, you might think you are pretty valuable to your husband or wife. If you’re a child, you might think you are pretty valuable to your parents. If you’re the leader of your group of friends and they look up to you, you might think you are pretty valuable to them. If you’re successful in your career, you might think you’re pretty valuable to your company. If you’re the oldest child of your parents, you might think you are pretty valuable to your younger siblings. And, well, if you own a pet, you might think you are pretty valuable to your pet. After all, they rely on you for food and a warm place to sleep.
But what if I told you that no matter who you are, no matter what your stature is in life, no matter how old you are, no matter how successful you are, no matter how many people depend on you, or anything you might come up with in determining your value, your worth goes way beyond all of those things COMBINED! All the value you can come up with for yourself pales in comparison to how valuable you actually are. And I believe I can prove it.
All those things mentioned above are all well and good but things that only matter in the here and now. For you and I, all those things will not last forever. They all have a beginning and an end. They all have a start line and a finish line. But you and I are way more important and valuable than that. Our value actually goes on forever. I am here to boldly proclaim that there is a God of all things who proves just how valuable we are. Not only does He tell us but He shows us through his sacrifice for us. And it gets even more personal than that. He didn’t just do it for masses of people. He didn’t just do it for a majority. No, He gets real personal and did it for YOU, and YOU specifically. And I can back this up. Here goes:
In Matthew 18:10-14 Jesus tells his disciples about the Parable of the Lost Sheep. He says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
In Luke 15: 4-7 Jesus speaking among tax collectors, sinners, the Pharisees, and the scribes said to them, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
What this means is this: God values a relationship with YOU so much, that if you were the only one needing to be saved from sin and eternal death, Jesus, would have come to pay the price just for your sin. God would have sent his Son down to this earth if only YOU were lost to eternity because of your sin. I don’t know about you, but when I sit and ponder that thought, I cannot help but be in utter awe of my God. We are talking about the God who breathed everything into existence. We are talking about the God who gives me the ability to type these words. I can’t get the next letter out on this computer screen or speak my next word without him giving it to me and yet this God, the ONLY true living God, values me that much! And he values YOU just as much. If for some reason you are reading this and do not have a relationship with God, then go back and read the Scripture above…God is out searching for YOU! And a celebration awaits in heaven when you are found. Your eternity, the true value of your worth that blows away any value you and I have here, awaits!
If I wanted to make this blog extra-long I could go into countless examples God gives us in his Word, the Bible, of how valuable we are as individuals. I encourage you to read about Saul also called Paul in Acts chapter 9 (Acts 13:9 shows Saul was also called Paul and is widely now known as Paul the Apostle to us today). Saul makes a complete change in his life when he is confronted by Jesus. This change was not a slight change. Oh no! He went from persecuting Christians to writing almost all of the New Testament given to him by God once converted to a relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe there is power in Paul’s conversion that has been like shock waves throughout human history, even to us today. One of the powers of the Bible that I see is we can relate to those lives God preserved in ancient human history. He handed down those stories to us for a reason. I believe Paul’s conversion is a powerful one in this way: We all know of someone who mocks God, doesn’t believe, and even goes as far as ridicule the very notion of a Creator God, and we think no way will that person ever come to a relationship with God. I have spoken to people I know who have a friend or family member like this and they say something like this to me, “So and so will never come to a relationship with God, you don’t know this person. There is no way they would ever acknowledge God or even consider God.” To which I always say, “I don’t need to know your friend or loved one, have you ever heard of Paul? I know Paul. If God can reach Paul, He surely has the power to reach your friend or loved one. That is the beauty of Scripture. Don’t give up on your friend or loved one. God can reach ANYONE! Stay in prayer for them. Go read Paul’s story.”
As I wrap up, let me speak to the atheist, agnostic, or even to the one who ridicules and mocks the God who created you. I am here to lovingly tell you with everything I can in typing this that you don’t know the value of your worth, but you can! As you mock God or refuse to believe for “whatever reason” please understand that you are devaluing your worth for all eternity! YOU are so much more valuable than this! And in doing that, Satan is basking in his plans to deposit your soul into the bank of Hell where there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth, eternal death, and eternal separation from the God who loves you and wants a relationship with you. I encourage you to take a step of courage to bankrupt Satan’s intentions with you and instead be the one who is found so that Jesus can bring you back to the 99 where there will be a celebration in heaven for YOU!
One last side note here. Earlier in the last paragraph, I said if you refuse to believe for “whatever reason”. I actually know what that reason is. It is pride. I don’t need to know you, as God speaks to this in his word too. Pride is one of the sharpest swords Satan uses on man to keep him from his Creator. (Please look into Proverbs 13:10, Proverbs 11:2, Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 16:5, Proverbs 16:18-19, Proverbs 18:12, Proverbs 21:4, Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 29:23…also look at Psalm 10:4). If I can be so bold as to encourage you to cast your pride aside and disarm Satan of this weapon. Instead, pick up the greatest weapon we have in all of our existence and that is Jesus Christ’s shed blood on the cross for you and me. And then go on to read Ephesians 6:10-18 where you can put on the full Armor of God. Trust me, Satan doesn’t stand a chance for your life when you do this. In fact, he has been defeated!
So, how important and how valuable are you? This life will come and go in an instant and all we put value in will come and go with it. But YOU are so valuable that Jesus Christ died for YOU and would have done it, if only for YOU! Seek the Truth and you’ll find Him. He is not only waiting for You but searching for You. If you read all the way here in this blog then I trust it is living proof of that…that God through my words might just be searching for YOU here! This is my prayer… God willing and praise Him!
“God, please let this at least reach 1 person. And to you, Lord, be all praise and worship! Let there be at least 1 that you bring back to the 99 through this blog and let the celebration begin in heaven!”
Have Character.
J. Noah Russell
