Acel Van Ommen: You are a Child of the KingSample

VALUABLE

Three years ago, I was invited to sing in one of the events of the International Justice Mission or IJM. It is a human rights agency geared to rescue victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of oppression.

During the event, one of the speakers, while in the course of delivering her speech, raised a new one-thousand peso bill and asked who in the audience wanted to have it. With no doubts, we all raised our hands. Soon after, she crumpled the paper bill, dropped it on the floor, and began stepping on it. She then asked us again who still wanted it, and still everyone did.

We all raised our hands because though the paper bill was crumpled dirty after being stepped upon on the floor, its value did not change. The point the speaker was trying to make was though we may feel dirty and crumpled, worthless because of the unpleasant things that happened to us, our value remains the same. The things in the past are a part of our lives, but they should never define who we are nor determine our value.

Items for sale have price tags to show how much they cost. A lot of people nowadays make significant efforts to prove what they are worth. They wear their clothes, the schools they go to, the cars they drive, the money they have in the bank as price tags to show valuable they are. When we base our worth on the things of this world, lies and insecurities overtakes us. Both pride and low self-esteem become stumbling blocks.

As children of God, we are already valuable even before we did something praiseworthy. The Bible says we are created in the image and likeness of God. We belong to Him. As Christians, we carry the Name of Christ. He is our brand.

This doesn't make us any more valuable than the others. We all have been bought in the same price - the precious blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. The King of Kings, the most valuable and favored one, saw us all worthy to die for.

Whatever your situation is in life, whatever it is that other people say about you, and even if you feel rejected and unworthy, believe in the truth that YOU ARE VALUABLE. You were created because God values you. He has called you and accepted you. You belong to Him.