In a previous post I described a picture of a rich man's son. What to all others was valueless, because it was the amateur workmanship of a friend, was priceless to the father. So priceless was the son, that the gardener who successfully bid for the auctioned picture, secured the rich man's vast estate. In a nutshell, the rich man's will had said, "whoever takes the son, gets everything else."
My friend Jerry Hobbs, triggered a deeper set of thoughts about this illustration, when he argued that to many believers, value or pricelessness relates to the financial cost of the Christian institution, its buildings and other assets. No I am not having a go at Catholicism, because materialism is widespread in Christendom. It blurs all perspective for unbelievers, but many believers have been equally beguiled by its power.
Not long ago I visited a church, sixty percent of whose members were struggling through financial difficulties, economic recession and worklessness. Yet the leadership still felt that a structure that cost millions, was more vital to the church than the practical needs of a struggling people. Such is the generosity of so many salt-of-the-earth believers, that donations flowed in anyway, but I am doubtful about the value so derived.
That brings the whole concept of price and value into focus. Price is the primary objective of bargainers, who thrive on the process of squeezing a better price out of a deal, but negotiators rarely deal in price - value is always the overriding objective. Value may include price considerations, but always exceeds mere price.
The price paid for our buildings and other awe-inspiring facilities, will never compare with the value that rests on a believer's life. That can never be measured in financial terms, because money cannot transcend death. Rather your priceless value is weighed against the price of the Son of God. God ascribes such value to you, because He paid the ultimate price to redeem you.
An indication of how greatly God values our lives, consider that the streets above are paved with the gold we so treasure here. He has used our most priceless commodity for paving, so we can grasp that beyond our our greatest treasures is a far-surpassing prize. God is quintessentially relational, delighting in relationships far beyond anything that humans value. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills for His material wealth is the sum of all He created, a creation He will one day fold up like a garment. But the relationships that emerge from that creation will be His eternally: it is His most treasured prize.
The early church was poor by every human measure, but their relationships and the workings of the body of Christ, were far more valuable than the institutions or objects devised by men. If God chooses to dwell amongst His people, yet will not be contained in buildings made by men - you do the math and tell me where the real value lies. Saints throughout history have paid a great price for their faith, but they were never driven by price or reward, but by a love that transcended life and death.
I have often advised my sons that, whereas the currency of past ages was gold, spices, knowledge or manufactured products, the currency of this age is relationships. To put that statement in perspective, Phillip Kotler, the world's leading authority on marketing, said that future competition will not be between individuals or firms, but between networks.
I put it to you that a time is coming and now is at hand, when relationships and the network of hearts that will ultimately define God's kingdom amongst men, will prove to be a practical instrument of survival and hope, far beyond anything that human models have ever achieved. Capitalism and Socialism were tried and foudn wanting, but a kingdom bound together by love is a seriously hard act to follow. It is priceless.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
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