What is a Human Being Worth?

Do we look cold in the seven degree freeze? Well yes, yes we were, but the joy of the Lord warmed our hearts, if not our toes. Three women chose life at the abortion center yesterday. It was jam packed, spilling over into the second parking lot which was terribly disturbing. It looked like the college kids were getting in their abortions before winter break ended.  That was sad, but perhaps the saddest sight was a father counting out bills and handing them to his son to pay for his grandchild to be killed.

I called out to him, “What is a human being worth? What price can you put on a child?  God says that baby is precious, as all human beings are, with a sacred value all of us have. All humans are made in God’s image and infinitely valued by Him.”

He ignored me.

When I got home, I was pondering my question to the man. What is a human being worth? Saving me from cancer cost about $200,000. Am I worth that? I decided to check what scripture tells me, since that is my final authority.

Matthew 6: 27 gives us some clues: Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

That is a rhetorical question. Clearly, God is implying we are indeed of more value than birds. God is even specific in Matthew 10:31 regarding which birds we exceed in value: Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We are more highly esteemed by God not of just one sparrow... but of many sparrows.

In Luke 12:6-7 God again points out that many sparrows are NOTHING compared to our value.  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

I was beginning to wonder if we were only a notch above sparrows, but nothing else... BUT then, the following verses clarified further that we are not just valued above birds.

Check this out:

1 Peter 1:18-19 

[18] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

We are apparently of more value than silver or gold. 

And further, our redemption was bought with the precious blood of Christ Jesus...God’s only begotten son. Wow. I mean, really...think about that. 

In case we miss the enormity of this message, God mentions it over and over again in various ways.

Ephesians 2:4-10

[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

If this doesn’t make you feel infinitely valued, I don’t know what will. We were DEAD in our sin, hopelessly lost, and Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners,  and then in victory, conquered death not only for Him, but for you and me, seating us in Heaven which we clearly did not deserve.

Sadly, the grandfather finished counting the money and handed it to his son who hurried back into the abortion center. As God would have it, even this little tragic vignette was not outside His power to redeem. One of our counselors stayed in the bitter cold waiting to speak to the man. He incredibly knew the man from a class they had attended together. Though the man ignored all of us through the morning, in the afternoon he stopped to speak with Andrew. Andrew handed him our literature with many verses that speak of how deeply God values human life. Maybe the man will understand not only the doomed baby’s worth, but his own worth before God.

He who showed no mercy for his grandchild doesn’t deserve God’s mercy...but then, none of us do.

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Romans 5:8 NIV

[8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.