Once I
explore the cross of Jesus, then travel through Saturday to the Resurrection,
and then consider the possibility of living in both this physical world and the
spiritual one; only then does the shape of grace begin to emerge. It begins to clarify with the cross, and
through the resurrection it gains definition, but then I see what I have been
doing to myself spiritually and I see what my Master thought was such a
price. It is appalling to see what my
Master purchased at such a cost.
The value of
sin-ridden, selfish rebels (aka humans) is found in the price paid by their
Creator. They have value just in that
they were created by such a One as the Creator of the universe; that’s pretty
remarkable and imparts value. But their
condition from that point on is a downward spiral. Like fish or cut fruit, we go bad very fast
when left to ourselves. So the short
shelf-life might be expected to reduce the value unless there was some gain or
other payoff. The pride of people in
general, that they can somehow achieve the good standing they need, or all the
good standing necessary, removes any such gain or payoff.
The value of
human creatures is not found in the short supply, the supply grows at a
staggering rate, and the value of life seems to plummet along with it. The value of human creatures is only found in
the going price paid by their Creator.
The realization that my value is found in my Master and nowhere else is
not comfortable. I want to have some
power over my value, and I have no positive effect at all. I want to somehow control my eternal fate,
and all I can do is choose to submit to my Master. I want to be able to gain the attention of
others for my standing before my Master but I am outshined.
It is my
continual self-centered nature that desires these things, and it is the grace
of my Master, the freely given declaration of righteousness, that imparts value
to my life. My life is full of rebellion
against my Master, limited self-centered assessment of my surroundings, and grandiose
claims of importance. But my boast
should be in Christ alone, and Him crucified.
What I have to boast about, point to, and accept in my heart is that all
my value comes from my Master; His extreme bid for a relationship with Him.
But I also need
to recognize my value among my fellow human creatures. It wasn’t for one that my Master paid such a
price, but for the whole cosmos. It was
not just for me, but for my neighbors too.
The value I find in what my Master has done for me is the value of those
around me as well. There is no room for
feeling superior or as if I am distinct in any other way than that I benefit
from this value, and many of them do not.
Clearly there is no room for me to assess myself any higher than those
around me.
It is an
underlying philosophy or philosophical position that when everyone is special,
no one is; that specialness implies uniqueness.
That’s true in our cultural use of the word, but from the perspective of
my Master, humanity is special in relation to all of creation. His wider perspective does impart uniqueness
to people, but not among themselves, among the rest of creation. So, again, my value is along with, not over
and above the value of others around me.
I’m not special among people (although I am fairly unique), I am special
because I am a person; as is everyone else.
And yet there are the “elect” in Scripture; another evidence of grace.
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