What is our worth? Understanding the gospel points us to two paradoxical realities - our depravity caused by sin which makes us worthless and the gracious sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our souls which makes us priceless.
The worth of an object or service is not determined by it's appeared value, but by the highest price people are willing to pay for it. Take for instance a piece of artwork - it's nothing more than just a few dollars worth of canvas and paint, but to an art collector who values the combination of strokes and colours, a heftier price might be paid for it than the literal cost of making it. This one principle truly revolutionised the way I viewed our worth in Christ because in the same way, the value of our souls can't really be calculated on their own, but rather by the price Jesus was willing to pay for them.
Ephesians 4:1 makes this clear: "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called."
God urges us to walk in a manner that adds up to His holy calling, but a crucial question we must ask is do we truly add up? Can we really be worthy of Jesus and earn Him and the calling He gives to us? Apparently, we know the answer is no.
Our sin has broken us in a way that renders us worthless compared to the matchless glory that is Jesus Christ. Even if all the souls of mankind were added together from past, present and future, we would never even come close to the worth of Jesus Christ. But God was still willing to pay that price because He looks at us and sees value, not because of who we are but because of who He is.
Romans 5:7-8 says, "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Even when we appeared to be of no worth, Jesus gave up that which was most valuable - His own life - for sinners like us.
Like the old hymn goes, "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."
We are all wretches that do not deserve God's love but Jesus imputes His worth upon us simply because He finds joy being in relationship with you and me. What a wonderful thing to know that our worth is not based on whether we can earn God's love and grace, but on what Jesus has done to make us worthy.
