Yeahbut
As I have been working through this topic I’ve experienced a number of yeahbuts and I’ve heard a few from you as well. Yeahbuts stop my brain from working until I can work out an answer. I’m following the logical progression until an odd turn or obstacle stops me in my tracks. “Yeahbut that doesn’t fit with this other thing I know to be true”. Once the question is resolved; by additional data, the abandonment of a prior paradigm, or the accommodation of a new level of ambiguity, I can move on.
In order to present the infobits shared thus far without constant interruption I saved the yeahbuts up for you. Here they are:
YB don’t we have intrinsic value because we are made in God’s image? Yes, you and I are image bearer’s of God. Mother Theresa and Charlie Manson also bore his image. We, the species, are made in His image, male and female. There may be inherent value in us but we don’t get to take credit for it or grade on a curve.
Taking this further we could represent both Theresa and Charles as being made of the same stuff by the same manufacturer. As if they were both bars of pure gold that were fashioned by nature, nurture, and many choices in to tools for highly creative good and evil. The use of the gold does not affect its intrinsic value.
YB Mother Theresa behaved in a much more godly way than Charles Manson; so behavior should play into this value thing. Well, while I will agree, “handsome is as handsome does” our behavior has nothing to do with our value. It has much to do with usefulness, obedience, and maturity, but it does not change our worth. Terry looks more like Jesus than Chuck because she spent time in relationship with Him and learned to serve on His model.
Look at it this way, my aunts always watch me at family gatherings in a creepy and endearing way. I not only look like my dad, but my movements and mannerisms are his as well. They may say that I’m a chip off the old block; but they do not mistake me for him. There is a family resemblance, built by genetics and mentoring. In similar fashion the longer she served the more Theresa resembled Jesus; but if you mistook her for Him she would have corrected you.
YB I answered God’s call and I am redeemed by His sacrifice. In fact, my new currency of self worth is that I was “bought with a price, the blood of Christ”. OK, this one took me a while so while I am warming up to answer consider these additional verses on the topic of human value. Try on these price tags, “…Don’t worry, you are worth many sparrows” (Mt 10:31) and “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing..” (Dn 4:35a).
Here’s the thing; God’s blood is not economic leverage. Yes, the blood of men and animals had been spilt in the history of our redemption. But, along with the Law they only exemplified our need of grace. Many Christians rightly say that the price of redemption was Jesus going to the cross; they then leap to the conclusion that our value is set by the cross. They reason that God spent that much because we are worth that much; hence they say that Jesus’ blood is my price tag. If this sets my worth then I should practice believing the truths of scripture and my self-image or self-love will come into alignment.
I have come to believe that this is a dangerous half-truth (a.k.a the lie closest to the truth). Jesus was not a Middle Eastern merchant haggling to get the best price for our redemption and pay not a penny more than our value. The price He paid reflected both God’s justice and His grace. Maybe the cross proves me to be that valuable but more likely it reflects the depth of my unworthiness. I would submit that the exorbitant price had more to do with an expression of unconditional love.
If we turn the cross into a representation of the price we deserve then the gift of grace is negated. The whole point is that He lived a perfect life that I don’t and took the death I deserved. That does not mean I am worth that much, it means He loves me that much.
We need to leave the Law and accept grace. The economics of self-love are opposed to grace. Grace is a gift, it cannot be earned or inherited.
Think of the exemplary life of Hosea. God made the poor guy’s whole life an intentional example. “..the Lord said to him, “Go and take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord” (Ho 1:2). Hosea married the prostitute Gomer and acted lovingly toward her though she refused to change her whoring ways. In the same way Jesus chose to love us in spite of our propensity to put ourselves before Him and before our neighbor.
Undeserved love, unconditional acceptance, cannot be earned, inherited, or purchased with anything you’ve got. Get used to it, it will take practice, but get used to it.