Most people measure net worth in dollars. Or in popularity. Or in appearance. Or in achievements. Or in degrees and awards. Or in what they think other people think of them (the most useless of all because other people seldom do).
Some say the best way to evaluate your worth is by the price God was willing to pay. He went to a horrible death to redeem us from eternal death. And He says He loves us with an everlasting love. He accepts me, just as I am, but loves me too much to leave me that way. He makes me capable. There is nothing too hard for Him, and He lives in me.
This morning I see another measurement. In a long description about Christians being a “body” and compared to the functioning of a body, Paul says, “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
The Bible acknowledges that some are gifted one way, some another, but the eye cannot say to the hand that it is worthless, nor the head cannot dismiss the value of the feet. In the working of the Christian church, every part is important.
My toe hurts right now. The rest of my body sympathizes. My hands are working well, and the rest of me rejoices, yet this is the analogy. The reality is that in a properly functioning body of believers, all the parts work the same way. I might feel like an elbow, but others who seem to have more talent, better roles, and more prominent positions care about me. They hurt when I hurt, and praise God with me when things go well.
God composed the body of Christ this way. By doing so, He elevates each member to a unity and equality that those outside the body cannot know or perhaps appreciate. As the body of Christ identifies with my life and experiences, and as I do with theirs, God affirms our value over and over. He loves us so much that He united us and gave us a common heart for one another, a togetherness that says, “You are of great worth.”
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