A Christian's Value

Last night at our Bible study we talked about what our value as a person is. As Christians it is important to remember that we are loved by God, we have been justified and declared righteous by God, and we are adopted children of God. All these things mean that we have value and worth apart from anything we do on our own. Just as a $10 bill has its value given to it by the government (otherwise it would just be a green piece of paper with a pretty face on it), we too have value because of what God has done for us. This is important to remember because it frees us from the feelings of needing to please others and gain their approval in order to be valued. Instead, God values us because he loves us, declares us righteous, and has adopted us as his children. Aimee and I love our two boys because they are our boys--not because of all the wonderful things they do. We loved Jacob before he ever smiled. We loved Owen way before he took the butter knife and put egg yoke in his hair this morning! We love them because of who they are (our children) and not because of what they do. In the same way, God loves us because He has chosen to adopt us as His children. This is where our value and worth can be found--in the love of God. We don't have to work to earn it from Him or anyone else which means we can enjoy the peace we have with Him and others.

Remember:

You are loved by God.

You have been justified and are declared righteous.

You have been adopted as a child.

Some Scripture to Consider:
Ephesians 1:4b-5
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 2:4-10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Romans 8:30-31
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Galatians 4:4-7
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.