Value

I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. David Livingstone

Value is defined as relative worth, merit, or importance.  What are the things in your life that you place value on?  Are there certain things that have more value than others? 

This morning I was watching the news and there was a segment on a cup.  About now you are thinking, “Why would this be interesting?”  Well this is no ordinary cup.  It is a famous “chicken cup” named for the chickens, roosters and hens that decorate the outside of the cup. It is from the Ming Dynasty and is at least 500 years old.  So the criteria for the value of this cup is its old, made of porcelain, is from the Ming Dynasty, has chickens on it and there are supposedly only 17 chicken cups left in the world.

The interesting thing about it is that it sold for $36M at auction.  That’s not chicken feed folks. They showed a video of a guy holding the cup up so that reporters could take photos of it.  The only thing I could think was “dude you better not drop that thing”.  Someone just paid $36M for it. The collector who bought it is worth $900M so I guess $36M is a drop in the bucket for him.  Most likely the collector will put it on display at his museum in Shanghai. Can you imagine the shipping cost for this 3.1 inch cup? 

  

It always amazes me what people will pay for things that they think have value. Why do we place such worth on things?  From a worldly standpoint, things become valuable to us a lot of times due to their age.  If something survives intact for years it becomes more valuable.  Then there is the value placed on something because whoever created, designed or manufactured it is dead.  Then there is the whole competition thing.  If someone else wants it then we want it too. 

This started me thinking about salvation.  Why don’t more people place a higher value on their salvation?  There was an enormous price paid for our salvation, yet we often don’t consider its true value. If we believe in Jesus Christ and follow His ways, we have a priceless home with Him waiting for us.  Whatever we have here and now will eventually be destroyed.  The $36M chicken cup will be gone one day.  Consider the cost of salvation, then determine where true value lies.  It’s not with our possessions that we own in our short time on earth.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sometimes place great value on the things I own or want to own in this life.  Help me to remember that one day this will all be gone.  Nothing I gain on earth will go with me in the afterlife.  There is nothing that can touch the price for what Jesus did on the cross for me.  He paid for my salvation and help me to understand and appreciate its true worth.  I praise You and Jesus for this priceless gift. 

Scripture: Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.  Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Psalm 119:36-38

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Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 11:4

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Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”  Revelation 5:11-12

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By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26

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Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

And He said to me, “It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.  Revelation 21:5-7