How Much Are You Worth?
by Kenneth Copeland
“Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
Have you ever found yourself struggling for a sense of self-worth? Everyone has. People work long hours and sacrifice their families to gain the approval of an employer and feel valuable at the office. They get in debt buying clothes, cars and houses, hoping those things will somehow make them feel more important. They even push for visible positions of honor and respect in the Church because they want to know they’re valuable in the kingdom of God.
The problem is…those things never bring the comfort we’re looking for. Once we get them, we live in constant fear of losing them. We are in bondage to them, knowing that their loss will prove what we’ve always feared—that we’re really not worth very much.
Instead of offering comfort, traditional religion made our fears even worse. It taught us we were nothing more than unspiritual worms God chose to take pity on. Just old sinners saved by grace.
Of course, you already know better than that. You know that by trusting in Jesus and making Him your LORD, you’ve been made the righteousness of God. But have you ever let His sacrifice settle the nagging question of your self-worth?
It does settle it, you know. Once you realize that God sent Jesus to pay the price to save you, you never again have to wonder how valuable you are. You don’t have to look at your performance, your possessions or even your position in your local church to see how much you’re worth.
All you have to do is look at the Cross. All you have to do is ask yourself, “How precious was the blood of Jesus that was shed there? How precious was the spotless Lamb of God who laid down His life for me?”
When you answer those questions, you will forever answer the question of your own value. You are worth as much to God as Jesus, because God gave Him in exchange for you.
“How could that be?” you might ask. “I know my own failures! I know my own faults! I’m not worthy to be valued at such a price!”
No, you aren’t. Neither am I. But God, because of His great love with which He loved us, paid it for us anyway. The Sovereign God who establishes all truth and all value, declared us to be as precious as Jesus. In the blood of His Firstborn, He forever established our worth. V
BVOV : 29
