Thought of the Day 05.26.10

One of the most easily bungled concepts in Christianity is the matter of personal worth. See, it’s very easy to think, “Well, if God chose me, that must mean that I’m pretty special.” However, good doctrine tells people, “No, it’s because God chose you that you have any value at all.” Keeping this distinction clear is understandably difficult, so allow me to help.

Imagine a memorabilia auction with things like a baseball thrown around by Ty Cobb or a ticket stub held by Elvis or even a pen used by Ronald Reagan. Now, consider someone sitting there looking very puzzled and finally turning to you to say, “But those things aren’t worth anything! What’s wrong with these people?” Then, looking like he’s had an epiphany, imagine him saying, “Wow. I guess I never realized just how valuable baseballs, ticket stubs, and pens are.”

You’d know this fellow didn’t understand the situation at all. And you’d feel sort of sorry for his complete confusion about what actually made these worthless, ordinary items so precious.