I walked through the Museum of National History in Quito a couple of
weeks ago (Ecuador was celebrating their Independence, so all the
Museums were free!), I was amazed to see the amount of gold that was
used by the Incas. Gustavo, our ministry contact, said to us “And
now you see why the Spanish came and took over Ecuador.” It was
because of gold.
I
wondered, “why is gold worth so much? Who decided that gold was
worth the lives of thousands and even millions of people?” It was
actually a bit humorous to see that the Incas had so much gold, they
used it for everyday things, like a clip to hold your cloak on or a
container to hold rice. However, to the Spaniards, it was worth
everything!
The
next week, I was with one of our teams, and God revealed something to
me about value. Things are valuable because of what people are
willing to sacrifice for them. Gold is valuable because people will
sacrifice their money (and so much more) to get it. When stories are
told of men who fight valiantly for the sake of a woman, we
immediately think she must be something pretty special if someone is
willing to fight and die for her. I’m no master wordsmith, but you
get the idea.
So
here’s the big deal: We as humans are valuable because God
sacrificed-and sacrificed a lot-to have a relationship with us.
I’m not valuable because of what I’ve done or am able to do. In
fact, hundreds of hours of volunteer work or even thousands of
dollars given away to charity don’t make me valuable. My value is
determined by someone else, by the one who gave it all for me. If
the God of the universe was willing to sacrifice all for your sake,
what does that say about you? Probably something different than
you’d typically say about yourself.
You
are loved.
You
are worthy,
You
are beautiful.
You
are more than enough.
And
so am I.
