Then one of the elders
addressed me (John), saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from
where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These
are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:13-14
What are you worth? Figuring out your worth or the
worth of anything can be a difficult task.
Allow me to give you an illustration. Back when I was
at seminary in Springfield, Illinois, I spent a fair amount of time wandering
through the museums dedicated to Abraham Lincoln.
At one of those museums, I saw a few square inches of
silk.
Now silk can be an expensive cloth, but this bit of
material is not for sale. Offer what you want, you can't buy it.
Why? Well, its value is not because it was once part
of a dress owned and worn by a young lady by the name of Clara Harris. Not one
person in a hundred would be able to recognize Harris' name.
No, that silk has value because -- the night Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated -- Clara Harris was sitting in the president's box with
him. After Lincoln had been shot, she caught him and cradled his head in her
lap. Like a mother might cradle her child, she held him.
And Harris' beautiful silk dress was stained by the
blood of a great man. It is Lincoln's blood that caused the state of Illinois to
buy that dress. It is Lincoln's blood that gives those square inches of silk
their immense value.
This takes me back to the original question: what are
you worth?
Some will say your body, broken down into its various
base elements, is worth a few dollars. Justice will say you are, because of your
sin, worth less than nothing.
But the Heavenly Father has put a different value on
you.
Because of His Son's life's blood poured out on
Calvary's cruel cross, you have a different value. Because of Jesus' blood you
are washed, you are forgiven and, with Holy Spirit-given faith, you are saved.
What are you worth? You were worth the life of God's
Son: you were worth saving.
And for that we should give unending thanks to the
Lord.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are times when people and
problems, times and troubles wish to grind me down and make me feel worthless.
Especially at such moments may my eyes be lifted to the cross, so I might see
the Savior. Let me realize You have made me valuable because my sins have been
washed away by the blood of Jesus, my Savior. In His Name I pray this. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries
http://www.lhm.org/
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