What are the interests of others?
What are you worth? Have you ever had the conversation in your home about the value placed on footballers? My daughter is an evangelical football basher. She will happily launch into tirades as to why they are overpaid and contribute so little, for just kicking a bag of air around. Accrington Stanley’s Academy have a vision to cultivate a million-pound player, to be able to sell on to keep the club in the lofty heights of League 1.
Worth is described by what someone is prepared to give for an item, good or service. If you think of a lump of gold, buried deep underground, unmined, it is worthless. But Au has a price per gram of around £48. When discovered, purified, processed and packaged, then its value is realised.
In the Bible we read again and again of the love of God for us. In Romans 5:8 it says,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God saw us while we were still in the ground, unrefined and unfinished; he chose to see past our current worth and place a higher value on our lives. This is an extremely high standard to live by, but that doesn’t mean we should not aspire to see ourselves and others through the eyes of our creator.
God’s love, when we probably don’t deserve it, shows his mercy. I don’t know if anyone ever played that game when they were younger, when you would interlock fingers with your opponent. The aim was to twist and turn to apply enough pain for them to shout “MERCY”, as they conceded. God’s mercy is not like that. God’s mercy is rooted in love. Experience God’s mercy and love results in action; it calls us to look to how we can help others find their value too. As we approach this next week, consider the challenge set in Romans 12:1:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
