What Are We Worth?

"Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing."
Isaiah 40:16

We all make value judgments. 
Is that car worth the price tag?
Is that trophy worth the time and energy?
Is that trip worth the effort?

What are we worth?
I had a great professor at ACU that taught me a lot about early American Literature.  One of his favorite lectures revolved around the influence of colonial religious beliefs on poetry and prose in those early years of American history.  He directed us to the hymnal at one point for a profound visual aid, a hymn written by Isaac Watts in 1707:

Alas! And did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

This is the first stanza... sobering stuff, huh?  We are as worms.  That is our value.  Is that the pick-me-up you needed today?  Dr. Harper brought us to this song with a purpose though, and so does Isaiah.  Our worthless estate is an important revelation if we are ever to understand the amazing grace of God.  That sacred head for our sorry souls?!  What a deal!

God knew exactly what he was doing, though.  It's true; He regarded us as worthless, as less than nothing, but He wasn't willing to leave us that way, so He changed our fortunes forever with the sacrifice of His Son and the gift of His Spirit.  Now, we are His children, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the Body of Christ.  At Broadway, may we learn to rejoice everyday in this gift and live a life worthy of the calling we have received, to prove valuable for the Master who paid so precious a price for our freedom.