by Pastor Tang Long Kin
 

Titus 3: 4-7 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life

One day I found three rusty coins under a tree by the roadside. When I pick them up I found they were all dirty and rusted. There were two 5 sen coins and a 10 sen coin, making up a total value of 20 sens. I took a look at their condition and almost threw them away. But somehow I kept them and took them home and left them on the side table. A few days later they were still lying there untouched. I look at them and then ask myself why are they still around? There was nothing of beauty to behold. They were all rusted and dirty. They cannot be used as display ornaments and I refused to put them together with other coins because they are so rusted and dirty.
 
As I ponder over the fact that I still kept them despite their condition, I realized that it is not the metal itself that I see value in them. I see value in them because there is a higher authority guaranteeing their value. That authority is the Government of Malaysia. No matter how dirty or rusted they are, they are still worth 20 sens.  Their value is not what they are made of; their value is the authority behind them. I can easily take those dirty, rusty coins to Bank Negara Malaysia and exchange them for clean shiny coins. On closer look you can see “Bank Negara Malaysia” stamped on the coins. This is the seal of guarantee and value.
 
What is our life worth?
 
That thought started me to think of our worth. What is our worth? Do our lives matter? Who gives value to our life? During this Coronavirus pandemic we see chaos everywhere. More than 10mil lives have been permanently affected and more than 500 thousand deaths due to this virus alone. Life is really so fragile. One moment we are alive and active and the next moment we may be in the intensive care unit when the virus catches up. Life seems worthless.
 
I did a search on our worth in the bible and I found not less than 100 passages talking about our worth to God. In all of them nothing is said about God loving us because of our own value. They are all about God making us valuable because of His grace and loving kindness towards us. We are valuable and our lives matter because of God made us valuable. He purchased us with the blood of His beloved Son Jesus.
 
1 Peter 1:18
Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
 
Isaiah 41:13
For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
 
Ephesians 1:13–14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
 
No matter how battered our lives may be; no matter how dirty our lives have been; no matter how rusted our lives are, we are still valuable because God said so. He puts value in us and made us valuable. Now that we are His children our old worn out, dirty and rusty lives have been exchanged for new lives in Christ. That is all that matters. In addition, God has put His Spirit in us as a guarantee of our value and redemption.