TEXT: 1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Let me begin by making an obvious truism: The price you are prepared to pay for a product indicates your valuation of it. For instance, recently I learned that a Canadian buyer paid £345 000 for a pair of Nike trainers (“tennis shoes”) made in 1972! Of course, to you and I that may sound like a huge waste of money. But to the buyer, the moon shoes are extremely special and absolutely worth it.
Likewise, you may not know how precious or extremely valuable you are in the sight of God. Your enemies might be doing everything in their power to devalue and despise you. Even your friends may not take you seriously. They may underestimate your true worth because of their familiarity with you. As the saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt”. In the same way, your family may also take you for granted because they think they know you.
However, please understand that the only reliable measure of every human being’s value is the PRICE God paid to buy us back. The Bible says that price was far greater than the best currencies of the world. Look, God thinks the world of you! He values you far above any amount of silver and gold. You’re not “worth your weight in gold”, as some would say of their beloveds. For no perishable money, stocks or commodity could match your worth. You are infinitely precious in the sight of God. Only the precious blood of Jesus-that will never lose its power-is the true measure of your real value.
Dear friend, hold your head high today. Never doubt the depth of God’s love for you. Don’t measure yourself against anyone else. Don’t valuate yourself in terms of your education, qualifications, salary, title or fame. Don’t even esteem yourself according to how you feel. See yourself the way God sees you-as an infinitely valuable asset, bought with the infinitely precious blood of the Lamb. Hallelujah!
Pastor Josh