LightGrams
August 22, 2024
Volume 28, Number 24
A story carried by United Press International earlier this week told of a men’s fedora hat that was recently auctioned. I did a search on the Internet for hats of this kind and found a wide range of prices. One had a price tag of $200, too expensive for me. That one that was recently auctioned, however, brought a slightly higher price – $630,000!
By mentioning that it was a “fedora”, you may have already been thinking of a famous hat worn by actor Harrison Ford in the movie series “Indiana Jones”. Yes, that’s the hat, and the one that fetched such an astronomical price was certified as being worn in the second movie of that series. It had been in the possession of Dean Ferrandini, a stunt performer who subbed for Ford in various scenes. After Ferrandini’s death last year, his estate went up for sale.
Don’t expect anyone to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for just any Fedora hat. But when you have a hat worn in such an iconic movie by such a famous actor, don’t expect to obtain it for $200. What gives that hat its value is not what it is as much as whose it was.
Is this how we explain the value God has placed on us? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In giving His Son, God sent Jesus on a mission that would culminate in an agonizing death, an incredibly high price to pay for anything or anyone.
Did Jesus embark on that fateful mission because of our worth? No, that doesn’t explain it. People are people, and we’re all flawed. David’s words of Psalm 8:4 seem appropriate as we consider this question: “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” What makes people worth God’s attention, much less worth His own Son?
The answer can be found in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The love of God is what moved God to visit us with salvation. It wasn’t our goodness or our potential, for “we were still sinners”. 1 John 4:19 says it simply: “We love Him because He first loved us.”
Are people worth a lot? Many people doubt their worth, but the Bible affirms this fact. Especially when we respond to the Lord’s invitation (see Revelation 3:20), we become “His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). That’s the effect of being “in Christ”, the place where all spiritual blessings are found (Ephesians 1:3).
My worth, therefore, is not determined simply by who I am, but more by whose I am. Like the old violin in Myra Brooks Welch’s poem (click here to read it), we will never know our true value until we submit our lives to the Master’s hand.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2024, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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