Not Enough Value

Good morning as autumn approaches and that dreadful season of political ads continues unabated. Looking at our voter turnout record in America, we don't place enough value on the privilege of voting. Of course, the deluge of political ads we must endure may have something to do with that. Before we came to believe in Jesus, we had a problem with too much value on some things, and not enough value on other people. Back in the day we might lose a potential friend for the chance to play a practical joke. We didn't value what might have become a lifelong relationship over the small satisfaction of the moment. Placing a higher value on personal gain over persons can pretty much describe most or even all teenagers. Without Christ, we are quite likely to carry that attitude for the remainder of our lives. The changes the Holy Spirit brings to our lives become apparent when we start valuing our friends over what we can get in this life.

Another thing we come to value is the name of Christ. The world obviously does not value this enough. Almost any movie will use the name of God, Jesus, or Christ in some way that has nothing to do with calling on our Lord in prayer or thanksgiving. Worldly conversations include the same vain usage. The argument of which came first, the movies or the talk, has no conclusive answer, but I suspect that it was both. The world does not value the man behind the name that once healed the sick and cast out the demons. But you know and I know that one day this name will cause every knee to bow and all tongues to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

To value something is to more than just want it in the way we desire something in a store display. To value something means that we are willing to sacrifice for it. You sacrificed something in coming to Christ - the sin in your life. Doesn't sound like such a valuable sacrifice, does it? But, oh, how we clung to that sin when we walked in the way of the world. We valued the wrong thing and we needed our value adjusted and the penalty taken away. Praise God for a new life in Christ!

Bucky