Our Value to God
Our Value To God
Many have arranged the thoughts of John 3:16 in different ways and under different headings, this is my favorite:
John 3:16:
God = The Greatest One
So loved = The Greatest Degree
the world = The greatest amount of people
that He gave = The greatest generosity
His only begotten Son = The greatest uniqueness
that whosoever = The greatest invitation
believeth in Him = The greatest simplicity
should not = The greatest certainty
perish = The greatest possible loss
but = The greatest difference
have = The greatest possession
eternal = The greatest length
life = The greatest gift
When we notice in John 3:16 the greatest generosity it helps us to understand two things about God:
1. The first is His character and nature: He is extravagantly generous. Ephesians 1:7,8 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight..."
2. We understand the depth of God’s care for us, as demonstrated by His generosity, or said differently it speaks of our value to God which is what we want to preach on today.
John 3:16 makes abundantly clear our value to God, "For God so loved the world that..."
We are so often bombarded by the fact that we are sinners it makes it very difficult for some to grasp, "how God could love a sinner such as I, could yearn to turn my sorrow into bliss, nor rest until He had brought me nigh, how marvelous is love like this.... Such love, such wondrous love..." We are so often aware of our unworthiness that we sing, and rightly so, of amazing grace. Today, I want to leave the discussion of our unworthiness alone, and I instead want to concentrate on the value we have to God.
If all you ever think about is your unworthiness before God, it can lead to feelings of condemnation and alienation, when in fact there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, and we who were far off, have been brought nigh. The emphasis of this message is not what you were before Christ came into your life, but the great value that God places on you, and the love He has for you. For some this will be a very liberating message.
What is Value is Determined by?
How do we determine a things value? As we go through this list, you will see that by every standard of value, God loves you greatly.
In determining a things value we usually use the following criteria:
1. The cost of labor and production.
How much does it cost to make and produce a thing is an important item in determining a things value. Jesus told a parable about counting the cost before you build a tower, or before you go to war. Luke 14:28-30 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
God knew how much it was going to cost Him to make and redeem man long before the first man and woman were created. (Eph 1:4) In Gen. 1:26 there is no hesitancy suggested in the creation of man, even though God knew what was ahead for His Son. He knew how much it was going to cost Him, and He went ahead with the project anyway. Why?! Because in His eyes it was worth doing. The cost of creating and redeeming man, was outweighed by the value He placed on having us to be near Him. You have great and enormous value to God!
2. Purchase price.
A second item that we can consider in the value of a thing is the actual purchase price paid.
Some people will pay millions of dollars for a painting of water lilies. I wouldn’t, because I don’t have that much money and even if I did, I wouldn’t place that much value on a painting. Some people pay thousands of dollars for beanie baby stuffed toys. I wouldn’t, because they aren’t worth hardly anything to me. Some people pay enormous sums for movie memorabilia, I wouldn’t. Some people pay great amounts for Barbie dolls, I wouldn’t. I hope your getting my point, which is, that to the degree something has value to YOU, you will pay for it.
How much God paid for us, says much about His valuation of us. In heaven gold and jewels have little value, in fact gold will be pavement upon which we will walk. What then is of value in heaven? If heaven had a vault to protect its most valuable property, what would be kept in it? Not silver, not gold, nor any such thing. If we could open heaven’s vault we would find the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. God spared no expense in purchasing us, He gladly and willingly emptied His vault, that we might be His choice possession.
1 Peter 1:18,19 "Forasmuch as ye know that 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:"
When we consider the purchase price paid, the precious blood of Christ, then we have to know we are of great value to God.
3. Effort in obtaining.
A third item in considering the value of a thing, is the amount of effort someone is willing to expend to obtain it. Would you climb the Himalayas for something? Would you eat grotesque things on a TV show to earn some money? How far would you go? The amount of effort you are willing to make to get something is a clear indicator of its value to you. Phillippians 2 and many other places show that God was willing to go the utmost distance for us.
People are doing all kinds of grotesque things on TV in an effort to win money. They are covering themselves with rats, and spiders and all sorts of things. But the most grotesque thing ever done to anyone to win a prize was when God, "laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Is 53:6) God put on Jesus every sin committed by every person who ever lived. No one ever went to a further length to get something, than God in Christ went to get you and I!
4. Care in keeping.
A things value can also be determined by the amount of effort that is spent to safeguard it.
The two main things that God has done to safeguard us are the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the gift of the bible. When God sent the Holy Spirit to seal and protect us, there is no greater vault anywhere in the universe. There is no stronger bodyguard, there is no more diligent watchman, there is no more powerful protector. God sent us the best.
Secondly, God gave us the scriptures. They have come down to us as a blood stained book. Many have died to produce, and deliver this book to people throughout the world and throughout the ages. There is no more costly book that has ever been produced. By giving us the most diligent watchman there ever was, and the most blood stained book there ever was, God has said, "YOU are valuable to Me!"
5. Value to thieves.
The more value an item has, the more thieves are attracted to stealing it. The fact the devil, the world, and the flesh have a contract on you proves your worth.
6. Terms of endearment.
Finally, when something is valuable to you, you speak of it in endearing tones. Many scriptures could be shown but here is just one: Deuteronomy 32:10 "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." This text though speaking of Israel in the OT applies just as well to the church in the NT.
Close: It has been my observation that Christians find it easier to say to someone else that God loves them, than to say it to themselves. I think it probably has something to do with lingering feelings of guilt or inadequacy. But when you look at all that God has done and said to show you how much you mean to Him, such feelings will vanish away. You are of value to God! He hears you when you pray!
