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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/414546
You’re Worth It! by Jeremy Pearsons Jesus is the Son of God. You probably already knew that. But what else is He? A lot. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus is your teacher, preacher and healer. Jesus is your gift from God. Jesus is the measure of your wealth. Jesus is the measure of your strength. Jesus is the measure of your ability. And Jesus is the measure of your worth. Jesus is all of this and so much more. In Matthew 13, Jesus gives some very interesting examples of what the kingdom of heaven is like. In verse 44, He likens it to a man finding treasure in a field and then selling all he has to buy the field. He also said the kingdom of God is like a pearl merchant who finds a uniquely valuable one and sells all he has to purchase it, in verses 45-46. I find this similar to the parable in Luke 15. Jesus first talks about going to find one lost sheep, and the joy of finding it. Then He tells this story: Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!” Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (verses 8-10, "New King James Version"). You may find it interesting to do a little study into this time and culture in the Middle East. You may also discover what the coin in that story would’ve meant to the woman who lost it. Young women in this area and in this era were not wealthy, generally. They would save and save, from their early teens until they got married, because they were going to wear a headdress that was very much like a wedding ring. It signified they were married. And it was made up of 10 silver coins. In terms of value, the lost coin was worth a lot to the woman in Jesus’ story. To her, it was priceless—what it signified was far greater than the dollar value. So she pulled the house apart looking for it. When she finally found it, she rejoiced—not at the recovered value, but at the signified worth of having all of these coins, of having her symbol of something far greater than a monetary value restored. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is like that. He tells us we’re worth paying the highest price imaginable—everything. You are worth His very life. He paid the costliest price for you. Jesus is the measure of your worth. He set your worth as the price of His own life when He paid for you by dying. And remember, the price paid determines the value. The Image of God So many people don’t understand the worth Jesus set on their lives by the price He paid. They think poorly of themselves, of their worth. They see the field and think it’s not worth it. They see the pearl, and they can’t imagine why the guy paid everything for it. They see the one coin, and they don’t understand why the woman would search so frantically or why she was so excited when she found it. They don’t understand the worth. They don’t understand that the treasure hidden beneath the surface made selling everything worth it to the guy who bought the field. They don’t see what he saw, the deep treasure that made every penny worth spending. 20 : BVOV