2-28-2016

 Good Morning All!!     

           Deuteronomy 15:15; “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you;”

     I remember listening to some of the grownup conversation when I was much, much younger.  I remember the phrase and how it always stuck with me.  “That’s where two fools met.”  They were discussing a rumored land purchase offer.  The adults laughed and talked of other things.  Later, after everyone else was gone, I asked my parents what that meant.  They explained that one man had offered to buy some land from a neighbor and had offered a price that was almost twice what the current land values were.  The second neighbor turned him down.  “That’s where two fools met; the first was a fool for offering that amount and the second man was a fool for not taking the offer.”

    Later in my life, I studied economics and learned about the law of supply and demand and how this was always the true price of a good or service.  When discussing how to determine the price of a good when at auction, my economics professor said the true price was the second to the last bid; that is the amount where more than one person would purchase the good.  Then he started talking about value of goods.  There was something called the intrinsic value, then there was the exchange value, then there was the marginal value and so on and so forth.  What is it worth, what is its value?  Are value and worth the same thing?  I enjoyed the class but oftentimes, my head hurt after class.

    What is it worth?  Sometimes we ask that question about people as well.  Sometimes we ask that question about ourselves.  Am I worth it?  What am I worth?  If you listen to the world; you aren’t worth much.  To the ultra-rich you are a means to make more money.  To the ultra-powerful you are a means to power and control.  To the politician you are just one vote to keep them in office.  Maybe to your family you are just a meal ticket, the one who pays the bills.  Maybe you look at some things that have happened in your life and you think your value is very low.  What are you worth?  What is your value?

    Value is determined by the purchaser.  What are you worth?  You are worth one dying Savior.  God’s love for you, his desire to redeem you and bring you back into his family led him to give his Son, his only Son, in exchange for you.  The world may see you as worthless but your Father in heaven says you are worth one dying Savior to Him; a price he paid willingly.  So when the world, the devil, and the sinful elements of this world call you worthless; remember your Father in heaven says you are worth one dying Savior.  You can take your comfort and your hope in the value that your heavenly Father places on you.  He paid the price of one dying Savior for you because he loves you.  Hold onto that truth.

Father, you sent Jesus to pay the price for me.  Keep me safe in the knowledge that your love places a great value on me and that in you I have peace and hope.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.   

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret