Hindsight: Add Value

 I'm older today. Though not exactly old. This last year has brought a few unexpected, yet God-ordained, transitions that have been wonderful blessings in their own right. I've learned a lot of stuff in my life. But it all boils down to this.

Learn how to add value to people's lives and you will never be without friends, job, cause to live for, something that matters, purpose that wakes you up in the morning, and a reason to keep on breathing.

Life is about more than just yourself. Life is about more than having the latest things, wearing the latest things, driving the latest things, knowing the latest things. Life—and the only thing that really matters right when you boil it all down to the bare essentials—is all about connecting to others, and helping others connect to God. The best, broadest, purest, and the simplest way is to learn to live, love, and add value to another person's life.

Life lived for yourself is a roller coaster, up one day and down the next—good and bad, great and worse. But life lived for others is never about you. It keeps the eye on the prize. It keeps the main thing the main thing.

You can never go wrong not living for yourself. You can never go wrong putting others first.

Another word we use for that sometimes is humility. Sometimes people think humility is about thinking less of yourself. That's not true. Humility is about thinking of yourself less.

What could be more humbling than a life lived in pursuit of adding value to the lives of others. Agree? Thanks for reading. God bless.

September 18 - Prophecy: Silver

Promise: Zechariah 11:12-13Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-15

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14, 15 ESV)

Prophecy can be a tricky thing. Some people start to get really weird and strange when they talk about it. But the cool thing that Biblical prophecy does over and over again through both the Old and New Testament, is confirm that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be.

Sometime around 500 B.C. the Old Testament prophet Zechariah foretold that the one who betrayed the Messiah would be paid thirty pieces of silver for handing him over to the authorities. Zechariah wrote about things that he could not have possibly understood or imagined without divine inspiration. It was more than an educated guess. It was foreknowledge granted by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' disciple Judas was the guy who handled the money for the ministry. He mist have been in love with money in order to betray Jesus like he did. Thirty pieces of silver was the price he got for betraying Jesus. But Jesus paid far more than that for you and I.

If there is one thing that I can take away from this story beyond the confirmation that prophecy brings—it is that you and I have value to God. Yes, Jesus was betrayed for what seems like a paltry amount of money. But that isn't the point. The point is that through his cheap betrayal, he was willing to sacrifice something of an incalculable value for a people that he believed was worth it.

God thinks you were worth it. That's pretty cool. To Him you are far more important than some silver. You are even more important to Him than His own life.

June 20 - Do You Believe

Read: John 9:35-41

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" (John 9:35 ESV)

Jesus healed a man that been blind his entire life. It caused such a ruckus that the religious leaders began questioning the man. His parents were brought in. He was questioned multiple times. Threats were made. Eventually, he was rejected and tossed away by the religious people because his story did line up with their arrogantly blind version of truth.

After being rejected by the synagogue leaders the former blind man was found again by Jesus. He asked him a simple question, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He was asking him if he believed in the promised messiah the Old Testament prophets and leaders often wrote about. The man did believe. He declared his belief in the Christ, and made Jesus the center of his affectionate worship.

Do you believe in the Son of Man? Do you believe in Jesus? If so, you will face some kind of persecution from someone. You will face some kind of rejection. Especially if you choose to freely embrace a life that seeks to extend grace toward those others have written off.

June 19 - Better Than

Read: John 9: 28-34

They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out. (John 9:34 ESV)

Have you ever thought that you were better than someone? What did you base that idea on? What was your standard of measurement that incorrectly lead you to assume that you held some kind of superior position over others.

The Pharisees held prestigious religious positions within their corrupted bureaucracy. This, coupled with their lust for money and notoriety, caused them to look down on pretty much everyone—including Jesus. They were so blinded by their inflated opinion of themselves that they completely rejected the notion that someone might have gained a revelation about God that was greater than their own.

In their eyes the blind man was blind all of his life because of a sin issue. Grace, mercy, and redemption were lost to them within a religious framework of merit, knowledge, and works. They were unable to see Jesus in truth. Thus they were unable to see the beauty of his many miracles in truth. This was caused by a considerable hardening of their hearts, which itself resulted from pride and greed.

As followers of Jesus we would do well to remember that we are not better than anyone. We are to put others first. We are to serve. My prayer today is that we would see no standard by which we would ascertain any kind of superiority. All people have an inherent dignity, value, and worth.