value

The story is told of an American tourist in Paris who picked up an amber necklace in a trinket shop.  When he arrived at New York and went through customs he was shocked at the high duty he had to pay for the necklace.  So when he came home, he spoke with a jeweler and the jeweler told him he would give $25,000 for the necklace.  The man was stunned and suspected that there was a reason for the offer.  So he took the necklace to an expert who appraised it at an astronomical amount.

When he asked the appraiser what made the necklace so valuable, he told him to look into the magnifying glass and see for himself.  When he placed his eye next to the glass, he saw an inscription which read: "From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine."  It was the name on the necklace that gave it extraordinary worth.

We have no intrinsic value -- that is to say, we are not of great value because of who we are or what we've accomplished.  Our value is determined by the One who bought us and owns us.  Those of us who are Christians have the name of Christ "stamped" on our lives to remind us who we are and whose we are.  Knowledge of this truth causes us to rethink what we do with our lives.

For example, if you have an old pair of ragged tennis shoes, you may think nothing of getting out in a muddy garden to do some work.  But if you're wearing an expensive pair of dress shoes, you'll be hesitant to wear them in the mud.  The value of what you're wearing will keep you from going certain places and doing certain things.

Paul says that's why we as Christians should avoid sexual immorality (as well as other misuses of the body).  If our bodies were of little value (as some believe), we would think nothing of "dragging them through the mud."  But knowing the value of our bodies, we're forced to think twice about where we go and what we do.

 "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (I Cor. 6:20).

Look closely at the inscription on your life.  You'll notice the name of the One who bought you and owns you.  Your value just went up!

-alan smith