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The world is obsessed with Self and focuses on "My
Value", my self-worth, my self-esteem. It was Humanistic Psychology
that popularized a concept that originated with the Serpent's lie in the
Garden of Eden. These same deceptions from the world have now pervaded
Evangelicalism.
And yet the respected Bible teachers of the previous
centuries never emphasized our "value to God". More
importantly the Bible does not emphasize our value to God. Rather God's
word teaches that we were hopelessly lost and separated from Him because
of our self-centeredness and rebellion. Not only did God not need us, we
were "worms" in a sense, we were worthy of eternal hell.
And yet God loves us and He became one of us and died in
our place. We did not deserve it, our value did not require it. But as
the song goes, "When I was worthless, Lord, you bought me"!
Glory to God! He alone is worthy!
Some will point to Matthew 6:26 or Luke 12:24:
"Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?"
Luke 12:24
Newer translations use the term "value". But
the emphasis here is not how much "better" than the birds or
the flowers we are; it is not emphasizing our "value". These
verses are about God's love for us! That our Lord Jesus can be trusted!
It's teaching us about the Lord not our "Self"!
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