The Value Of Imperfection
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
Just this week someone paid $405 for a $1 coin. Apparently the US Mint released an unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington which were missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges. Those who understand numismatics nod in appreciation, but many of us would not assign that value to a dollar.
One of the resonating reminders of our humanity is the assigning of value to a thing. We sell imperfect clothes at a discount, but we pay 400 times more for an imperfection in a coin. Economists tell us that the intrinsic value of a thing is proportional to the scarcity and the usefulness of a thing. But we know that it is not always so. Often it is the intangible emotion or an association to a memory of that item. How many of us know of things around the house we would never sell, or bear to see it damaged because of the loving memories it contains? It has a value beyond usability, it has an imputed value.
And imputed value is a precious thing because it has acquired a value it could have never achieved on its own. It was given to it by the giver. It is a reflection of the one owning it. And one of the most consistent thoughts all across the Bible is the value imputed to man by God. Paul, the persecutor who ruthlessly executed those he saw as dangers to his faith, now with passion reverberates this value God put on mankind - “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Paul is astounded, and deeply grateful. Twice he repeats this in a short three verses. First, Christ died for the ungodly. There was not a natural worth that we had that Christ undertook such a mission. And as if that was not enough, he reminds again that while we were yet sinners, that is, it was not because we showed any signs of becoming worthy.
There would seem to be no reason to salvage this fallen mankind, yet God saw that humanity was worth redeeming. Like that imperfect coin, our value was not diminished in God’s eyes due to imperfection, but rather the cross is the evidence that God put a very high value on even in our imperfection.
In our modern age much has been written about self-worth, and trying to motivate people to believe in themselves. But self-worth will always fall short because it is based on “self”, and the great yearning of the human heart is to be found worthy by a standard outside of oneself. But here is a wonderfully liberating thought - our value is not in simply our usefulness or even our uniqueness, the great value that we have is the value that is imputed to us by God. It is the value we carry because of the reflection of the One who values us.
Friend, God valued you as worth the pain, shame and isolation of the cross. In those moments of honest reflection, are you haunted by guilt? Are you disappointed in yourself? Are all your actions, your passions and desires directed by wanting to be worth something to someone? God has put a value on your life, and it was His life for yours.
May I point you to the cross where “Christ died for us while were yet sinners”.
The cross is, and forever will be an eternal symbol of the imputed value of an imperfect humanity!
Danesh Manik
Just this week someone paid $405 for a $1 coin. Apparently the US Mint released an unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington which were missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges. Those who understand numismatics nod in appreciation, but many of us would not assign that value to a dollar.
One of the resonating reminders of our humanity is the assigning of value to a thing. We sell imperfect clothes at a discount, but we pay 400 times more for an imperfection in a coin. Economists tell us that the intrinsic value of a thing is proportional to the scarcity and the usefulness of a thing. But we know that it is not always so. Often it is the intangible emotion or an association to a memory of that item. How many of us know of things around the house we would never sell, or bear to see it damaged because of the loving memories it contains? It has a value beyond usability, it has an imputed value.
And imputed value is a precious thing because it has acquired a value it could have never achieved on its own. It was given to it by the giver. It is a reflection of the one owning it. And one of the most consistent thoughts all across the Bible is the value imputed to man by God. Paul, the persecutor who ruthlessly executed those he saw as dangers to his faith, now with passion reverberates this value God put on mankind - “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Paul is astounded, and deeply grateful. Twice he repeats this in a short three verses. First, Christ died for the ungodly. There was not a natural worth that we had that Christ undertook such a mission. And as if that was not enough, he reminds again that while we were yet sinners, that is, it was not because we showed any signs of becoming worthy.
There would seem to be no reason to salvage this fallen mankind, yet God saw that humanity was worth redeeming. Like that imperfect coin, our value was not diminished in God’s eyes due to imperfection, but rather the cross is the evidence that God put a very high value on even in our imperfection.
In our modern age much has been written about self-worth, and trying to motivate people to believe in themselves. But self-worth will always fall short because it is based on “self”, and the great yearning of the human heart is to be found worthy by a standard outside of oneself. But here is a wonderfully liberating thought - our value is not in simply our usefulness or even our uniqueness, the great value that we have is the value that is imputed to us by God. It is the value we carry because of the reflection of the One who values us.
Friend, God valued you as worth the pain, shame and isolation of the cross. In those moments of honest reflection, are you haunted by guilt? Are you disappointed in yourself? Are all your actions, your passions and desires directed by wanting to be worth something to someone? God has put a value on your life, and it was His life for yours.
May I point you to the cross where “Christ died for us while were yet sinners”.
The cross is, and forever will be an eternal symbol of the imputed value of an imperfect humanity!
Danesh Manik
posted by Danesh Manik | 3:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home