Articles
God’s Love Gives Us Value
The other day I was scanning the Internet and came across some thought-provoking images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Each image could be enlarged to show views from deeper and deeper into space. I began to realize that one small spot, which I had originally taken to be a star, was actually another galaxy. Then I was astonished to recognize that there were innumerable galaxies. Knowing that every single celestial body was created by God, I considered what a minute part of God’s creation the inhabitants of planet Earth really are. And yet, God individually loves us.
What makes a man think himself as having any value to God? Mankind is simply another work of His hands. He breathed us into existence. Despite this, man rebelled against his Creator and committed sin. Refusing to repent, man even killed the Son of God. Our world contains mass murderers, child molesters, violent criminals, liars and thieves. Does God love all of us? What is the value of one life?
Our value cannot be an assessment of our own self-worth. If so, some would be exaggerated with egotistical self-esteem, while others would be depressingly undervalued. Our value must be based solely on God’s determination of our worth. No one is “good” except God alone (Mark 10:18). Who else can establish what a “good” person actually is?
Jesus described God’s love for us in a parable. "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it" (Luke 15:4)? The purpose of Jesus’ coming to the earth was “to seek and save those who were lost” (Luke 19:10).
What value are we to God? We are certainly not equal to God, nor to Jesus, nor to the Holy Spirit, nor even to His angels. Yet every soul is valuable to God and “worth saving.” Jesus said we should not worry about what we will eat, wear, or even about our life. He said God makes sure the birds have enough to eat and how much more valuable you are than the birds (Luke 12:7; also see Matthew 12:12).
Galatians 1:4 describes Jesus as he “Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”
“Jesus is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
Even “non-Bible scholars” know that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to save it (John 3:16).
Does this mean everyone will be saved? Unfortunately, not all will be ransomed. A mere two verses after “the most famous verse in the Bible,” John records Jesus' words: “He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Those who choose not to believe in Jesus Christ will not be rescued and will not be saved.
We might question: would a merciful God allow men to be lost in hell for eternity? A good friend recently told me about his garden. He often found weeds growing among his vegetables. Many of these weeds were hearty, colorful and seemed to be of value. But they were weeds and needed to be removed and separated from the productive plants.
Without the love of God, we would all be insignificant and worthless beings--mere specks in space. However, since God created us and loved us, He sent His only son so that we can be ransomed, rescued and redeemed. We are of great value to Him. We can even become children of God. We can live forever with Him in paradise. Unfortunately, not all will choose to accept God's offer of mercy and the gift of eternal life. This does not diminish the value He places in each of us. God does not wish for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but for all to accept His undeserved love and precious gift.
