It is 7:27 am and I am sitting on the porch of a cabin at Buffalo Ridge Retreat Center. I just got back from an hour and a half walk through the woods and meadows on the property. Man is it beautiful here! I don’t want to leave but we (my family and I) will this afternoon. As I was walking I started thinking and man, God hit me square on the head with a 2x4 (figuratively not literally ) , how can anyone take for granted the beauty of this world and all that is from God.
While I contemplated this thought my mind went to the charge card commercials, you know the ones that start off with a pretty young girl at the store. Then it says, “Prom dress $300.00. New shoes $75.00. Flowers $23.00. Wonderful high school memory PRICELESS.” I stopped and asked the question: what do I consider PRICELESS? I consider my family PRICELESS. There is no way anyone could make me put a price on my family. There just isn’t enough money in the world to buy even one member of my family. Next to my family there is only one thing that is more PRICELESS and that is my relationship with Christ.
We live in a materialistic pagan world and it is easy to forget what true value is. True value is in relationships. I talked about my PRICELESS as being my family. Well anyone can say that even those who embrace the materialistic pagan lifestyle. So, what am I getting at? Keep reading and I will tell you.
There should be a commercial that starts with a person living a lavish life and then it says, “One human Life $BREATH OF THE CREATOR. Redemption of one human soul $SACRIFICE OF THE CREATORS ONLY SON. Relationship with Jesus Christ PRICELESS.
1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that we are not our own but that we were bought at a price (that price was the death of the Son of God.). We spend all kinds of time and money on frivolous things in our lives and in the church. We invest in homes, furniture and the latest TV’s and such but sometimes we forget what is important at home. Family! I am a busy bee, I always have to be doing and as a result I often forget or neglect the PRICELESS things in my life namely my wife and kids. (Shame on me.) I think that we are all like that to an extent. I even forget and neglect the MOST PRICELESS thing in my life, my relationship with Jesus. (Stupid me.)
I am doing stuff for the “Cause of Christ” but I forget what the cause is. The cause is growing in the Lord and sharing Him with others.
We tend to do the same thing in churches as we do in our lives. We want a nice building and great programs and money in the bank for emergencies. We want to have full pews but we tend to forget the PRICELESS. The relationships in the church are not always thought to be PRICELESS. We should strive to make our relationship with Jesus Christ the most PRICELESS thing in our lives and then can focus on the other PRICELESS things God has given us, our relationships with our family, friends, other believers, and non-believers. Everything that we do and spend in the church should be directed towards reaching the lost and growing the believers in the most PRICELESS thing ever, Personal relationships with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You know if we tended to focus on the PRICELESS and not the pricey then our lives, churches, relationships and witness would be so much richer. If you don’t believe me just read the book of Proverbs and see how PRICELESS relationships are. Read Psalms to see how PRICELESS our relationship with God is. Read Paul’s letters to the believers in the New Testament to see how PRICELESS our relationship with Jesus and our witness for Christ are.
What do you consider PRICELESS?
Pastor Sean