Second favorite line: Who can weigh the value of knowing you?

Who, indeed? Just as jewelers and gemologists weigh silver and gold and precious stones such as diamonds to determine their value, if we lay “knowing God” in the opposite scale, we’d soon learn which has more value. Knowing God.

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (11:33)

When we, as mere mortals, attempt to wrap our minds around the thoughts and intents of God, we will struggle. And yet, the disciples and apostles and all the saints who have come before us, have attempted to do just that because in knowing God, in becoming more intimate with Him, we become quite wealthy.

In Peter’s letter to “God’s elect,” he writes:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade … In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed … Even angels long to look into these things. (excerpted from 1 Peter 1: 3- 12)

Your Time for Personal Reflection

Oh, I hope you will go back and reread those words. They are so powerful!

Now, let’s go back to a question I asked early in this article: what, if anything, [do misdeeds] have to do with the value of possessions?

Do you recall the story in Luke 7 of the sinful woman who came to the home of the Pharisee because she’d heard Jesus was dining there? A sinful woman (perhaps one who had heard Jesus preaching and had decided to turn from her lifestyle) brought to the house an alabaster jar of perfume. Jesus was reclining (laying on one side) at the table. The woman stood behind him and began to weep, her tears falling to his feet. Then she knelt, wiped the Savior’s feet with her hair, kissed them and poured the perfume on them.

Simon, the Pharisee, was appalled, but he kept his opinion to himself. Jesus, however, knew the Pharisee’s thoughts and began to tell a story, the parable of the two men indebted to a moneylender.

One owed 500 denarii, the other 50.  Neither of them could pay the moneylender back, so the moneylender cancelled the debts. “Which would love him more?” Jesus asked.

“The one who owed the 500,” Simon said.

Jesus then turned to the woman. “When I came into the house, Simon, you did not offer water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears. You did not kiss me, but she has not stopped. You did not give me oil for my head but she gave me perfume for my feet. For her, much has been forgiven, so she loves much.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

To you and me, and to all believers everywhere, God’s love—God Himself, for God is love—is of greater worth than silver, gold, diamonds, expensive perfume, anything. But I would dare say that our faith—strong and sure—is of most importance to God. Without it, in the face of trial, conflict, and even in weak moments with French fries, we are drawn to Him, and in that drawing, we pour out praise, glory, and honor to our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who moves us ever closer to the Throne. 

Eva Marie Everson’s most current work is Reflections of God’s Holy Land: A Personal Journey Through Israel (Thomas Nelson/Nelson Bibles). For more information about the book and Eva Marie's speaking topics, go to: www.evamarieeverson.com