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| The Value of Many Sparrows |
David said in Psalm 8 “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” In other words, “who are we in relation to You, the Great Creator?” Jesus answers this question in a very personal individual way as He spoke to His followers: “…ye are of more value than many sparrows”. This answers the question, do we have value to the Lord? The answer is an unequivocal yes and it is far more than many sparrows. Man's value in the eyes of God is more than the creatures.
It would be a true statement that everything and everyone has a value attached to it, even when we say something is priceless it is a hyperbole to describe its value in relationship to its possessor, “It means so much me I wouldn’t sell it any cost for it is priceless”. I say it is priceless in relationship to its possessor because to someone else it may have no value at all. I remember seeing a movie where a man had what he referred to as a “priceless” set of coins; when he revealed it to his acquaintance the acquaintance realized these were just ordinary coins. They were only as good as their face value. But to the possessor, he saw a hidden value as he explained these coins reminded him of times spent with his father. A small quarter he was allowed to keep at a ball game when he shared a hot dog with his father. It was priceless to him, the memory that he conferred on that quarter was a fond memory of time he spent with his father and to him that was priceless.
Because of our opening text we know we have value with the Lord and it is indeed more than many sparrows; in actual fact we are so valuable that God sent His only begotten Son to buy us back (redeem us) when we became lost in sin. Now, ask yourself this question does Jesus have value to me? Yes? Then following up that question with this question, what is His value to me? Whether or not we realize it we all have a value structure. We already know God has a value structure through the illustration of the sparrows and more importantly through Jesus death on the cross but what may not be apparent is we too have a value structure and God fits into it somewhere. In our hearts God fits into our value gage (just like sparrow gage above).
Here is what we hear people say all the time: "I paid too much for it" or more to our liking, “I got a fantastic deal”. The buyer knows "it's" worth and he concluded he went over that amount or he came in under that amount. It is because of our value structure and like it or not we are all governed automatically by it. Now, let’s turn our attention to people because they too fit into our value system. There are those we are close to and they hold much greater value than those who are distant. There are, perhaps, some we would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for, a spouse, a child, a weak parent, but what about Christ? Are we willing to give Him everything? Dear desire? Self-will? Our ambitions? Our very lives? Like it or not, Jesus Christ and His call on our lives will fit somewhere in the gage listed at the beginning of this article. Therefore, it should be our lifelong ambition and goal to remove the limits on His worth in our hearts. In scriptural parlance we want to come to the place where we say: “I have found the Pearl of great price and I am willing to sell all to obtain it”
Be careful about making the blanket statement about, “I already surrendered all”. Perhaps you did but it is not a given. In my over 40 years in the Kingdom of God I have found this is a very rare thing. I have seen many over the years chafe at the call of God, get offended at some injustice, hold grudges, be unforgiving, be unwilling to serve and many other indicators that they are not surrendered completely to Him. You may not see the connection, for example, between getting offended and selling out to Christ but believe me it is evidence of an un-surrendered area of their heart. John 6:60-61 “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” When you drop down just a few verses we read: John 6:66 “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” The direct connection with being offended revealing an unwillingness to pay the price. And the same is true by the other issues mentioned, if you dig deep you will discover a heart not surrendered to Him, they have found the price of following Him and they are not willing to pay it.
How can we know what our value structure is towards God? It begins to be revealed by our own responses, whether verbally or through our actions. It is discerned by what point we say no to God. It begins to be revealed by those areas which we do not approve of God touching. We can understand how much we are willing to pay by how much of our lives we have surrendered to him in trust and then loving obedience. Here are some considerations of what He requires from us:
Mat 10:37-39 v 37 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. v 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. v 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
It is narrowed down to four points
• Mother & Father – In a conflict, does Gods will comes first
• Son & Daughter – do they hold us back from Gods plan?
• Taketh not his Cross – this is huge, not willing to die to self
• Loves his own life more than Christ – insisting on comforts, ease, the good life
Let me conclude by saying God is measured and does not ask more of us than He feels we can offer. The best illustration of this is in the sacrifice that was required of a man-child that was born. If the family was poor then a turtle dove was an acceptable sacrifice because that is all they could give (this was what Mary and Joseph offered for Jesus, they were poor). If they had more means then it was a ram which would have been more costly. However, for the wealthy, those who could afford it, it was a bullock which is the most expensive. God knows where we are at and the point of this message is that we would learn to grow and offer the ultimate sacrifice, this is the goal at the end of the race not at the beginning. The first and greatest commandment is thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, your mind and strength. He that is not willing to lay down his life for me is not worthy of me he that is not willing to take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
So again, where does God fit in our value system? Is He the Pearl of great price? Is He the treasure found in the field? We know that where a man's treasure is there will his heart be also, so, is Jesus Christ the Pearl of great price or just a good idea and as long as He does not cost me too much.
