How long ago has it been since you heard the phrase, “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure”, or “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”? Each of us do value different things. What do you think of first when someone asks, “What is most precious, honorable or of supreme worth to you”? Most of us first think of our family or children. Others may think of their stock portfolio, job or business, home, friends, pet, etc. Whatever we might call most highly esteemed would also be the thing we think of most frequently or where we would invest our available time and/or money.
Considering physical things, Connie is most precious to me followed by my children and grandchildren. Then I read 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV), 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 forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Hum!! It is striking that Peter compares silver, gold and culture with the preciousness of the blood of Christ.
If salvation was put in physical or monetary terms, how valuable might most of us in the U.S. consider it to be? How many would sacrificially give of themselves. or how hard might they work to purchase salvation compared to acquiring possessions, power, popularity or pleasure? Would it be worth one or two years of volunteer labor to obtain salvation–or would it be like going on a diet or making a new year’s resolution when other things soon distract from the quest? Has God somehow mistakenly strategized by giving us salvation for free in contrast to perhaps earning it through living a perpetual self-sacrificing lifestyle as Jesus did? After all, isn’t it true that we hold most precious what we can see or what we spend a great deal of our limited time or hard-earned money to obtain? Given our human nature, doesn’t offering it for free actually make it less valuable to us? Or, did God intentionally design it this way as His method of separating the authentic from the counterfeit?
What difference might it make if our salvation and eternal life somehow became genuinely most precious to us? Would we talk more about Him with our friends like we talk about our family, hobby, work or business? Would we spend more of our time and resources endeavoring to develop a tighter bond and intimacy with God through talking to Him (prayer) and meditating on His Word? Would we do those things in order to discover more of His value system and ways in the same way we spend on watching/listening podcasts to develop our skills or researching information on the internet to know more about our hobby, new electronic gadget or latest gossip? I expect we would be much more generous in giving our time, skill sets and possessions for Him to use to accomplish His work on this earth—like we extravagantly spend to find pleasure or acceptance. But how can we change what we think of as precious? It must be more than a cerebral decision, although our mind certainly must also be engaged. Here’s a clue Jesus gave on how to do this; Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be (Matthew 6:21, NLT2). If I want my heart to desire God more, I must choose to STOP doing things I enjoy and redirect my efforts to find ways to enjoy giving my time and resources into what my inner being is calling me to do. It will probably end up looking something like investing quality time learning a practical, meaningful and pleasurable way to mediate on God’s Word while having a listening ear for His whispers that energize us. You might find getting one or two people with whom you can share your discoveries will expedite your quest. It was more than 15 years ago I broke out of my old ways, and I never want to go back. It has been SO REWARDING! Jesus promised, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6, ESV).