From the Pastor’s Heart…

 (January 10, 2010)

Are you ready for this?

Our bodies are made up of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, iodine, zinc, copper, aluminum and arsenic. The total cost for all of that? About $1.00. Oh, and then there is our skin. If we were to stretch it out, the average person has between 15 to 18 feet of it (sorry, but I have a little bit more than that). Based on the value of cow hide, it would go for about $3.50.

And then there are our organs. Gary Becker, an economist and Nobel prize winner, said that if our organs were allowed to be sold, a kidney would be worth about $15,000.00 and a liver about $35,000.00.

But God says that man is a creation of His (Genesis 2:7). He determines our worth and He breathed into us a living soul that will last for eternity.

So what are we worth, really? And what should our response be to our worth?

Well, we are worth more than sparrows (Hebrew 10:29-31).

We are worth more than sheep (Matthew 12:10-13).

We are worth more than an ox (Luke 13:11-17)

We are worth more than the combined wealth of the world (Matthew 16:24-26).

But God truly declared the exact worth of man (His creation) at a place called Calvary. We were so valuable that He was willing to let His own Son die for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-10). God’s own Son was the price He was willing to give (Acts 20:28).

Economists tell us that the value of something is based upon what someone is willing to pay. What should our response be to what God was willing to pay and how far He was willing to go?

It is a joy to be your pastor.