Norman Vincent Peale wrote, “Once walking through the twisted little streets of Kowloon in Hong Kong I came upon a tattoo studio. In the window were displayed samples of the tattoos available. On the chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or whatever. But what struck me with force were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh, ‘Born to lose.’
“I entered the shop in astonishment and, pointing to those words, asked the Chinese artist, ‘Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body?’
“He replied, ‘Yes, sometimes.’”
“‘But,’ I said, ‘I just can’t believe that anyone in his right mind would do that.’”
“The artist simply tapped his forehead and in broken English said, ‘Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind.’”1
God thought we were worth enough to pay for our salvation with the life of His only Son. John wrote, “God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). Paul wrote, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Since God paid for mankind and the church with His Son’s blood (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25), each of us must be valuable.
We can see our worth in how much God was willing to pay for us. We are worth more than any amount of money. Peter wrote, “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19). Paul said it was an “unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15), which means its number cannot be told. New Testament Greek expert A. T. Robertson ventures that Paul may have made up this word since it is found nowhere else in or out of the New Testament so far as he knows. It is hard to have feelings of self-condemnation when we see ourselves in this light (Romans 5:1).
Invested costs
Another factor in the decision of how much to write on the price tag of the item we want to sell would be how much we have invested in it. It is possible that we purchased an old house and fixed it up, adding a room and updating its appearance and functionality. If we later wanted to sell it, we would not simply ask what we gave for it. We would include all the invested time and expense.
God has invested a lot in us since our conversions. We were all “fixer uppers” in need of more than just a washing. We needed a complete makeover—to be made over into Christ’s image (2 Corinthians 3:18; cf. Romans 12:2). God invests a little in us each day—He gives us our sustenance, answers our prayers, and guides our steps. Paul wrote that He freely gives us all things (Romans 8:32).
A school teacher noticed a little student straining to read the board. Taking it upon herself, she made arrangements for an optometrist to stop by the school and test the girl’s vision. About a week later, the teacher gave her student a pair of new glasses. She said she could not take them because her parents did not have money to pay for them. Her teacher replied, “You don’t have to pay for them, I already did.” That is what God does for us. We are worth so much to Him that He keeps us “as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10).
It is sometimes easier for a Christian to tell others that God loves them than it is to say to himself, “God loves me.” Look at what God has done to show you how much you mean to Him.
Practical Value: The Proposition Looked at from a Servant’s Viewpoint
We have value because we can bring glory to God.
It is true that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Matthew 3:9), but it is also true that God values the service we render to Him. The thought of the value of a living, praising servant runs throughout the Old Testament:
- “The grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth” (Isaiah 38:18).
- “In death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” (Psalm 6:5).
- “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?” (Psalm 30:9).
- “Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee” (Psalm 88:10–13).
- “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 115:17–18).
In the New Testament, Paul writes that Christians are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Many today, though, are like Jeremiah who struggled at times to see his value. God told him: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5; cf. Galatians 1:15–16). How did Jeremiah respond? “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jeremiah 1:6). In other words, “I’m sorry, God, but I don’t have the potential to be of use to you.”
Jeremiah suffered from spiritual myopia. People who suffer from spiritual near-sightedness can only see what is in their immediate area. The future is blurry. The cure for spiritual near-sightedness, as Jeremiah learned, is corrective lenses that focus on God and see what He is capable of providing. “The Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth” (Jeremiah 1:7–9).
– Allen Webster
Endnote
1Power of the Plus Factor, Norman Vincent Peale.