State of Man - Priceless

Titus 2:11-14 (ESV) ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

In this last devotion of the section, “The State of Man”…I want us to take a deep breath in and then take a deep breath out. Then, think upon the name of Jesus.

Walk through everything in your life that you can think of. Good or bad. Take the heartbreaking and the heart filling. Take it all, every single item, and then turn it, and your focus back on the name of Jesus. Here is a truth that I pray lingers with you for a lifetime.

You are not “trash” or “waste.” More importantly God does not view you as such. Look upon the Scripture from Titus today. Yes, this is one of Paul’s Pastoral Epistles that is meant, in this case, for encouraging Titus. Yet there was such a strong truth that stood out here to me.

I have always had a lifelong battle with self-hatred and self-worth. I write this at the age of 41, and up until just a few months ago, thinking of myself as worthless was a pretty common practice. That I was blessed to even be considered by God let alone chosen by Him. It is true to a point, but the heart of it is so wrong.

In this scripture we see Paul instructing Titus. Reminding Him of the grace of God. Pointing out that he should raise people up and train them to turn away from worldliness. To live lives that please God. To remind them of the future return of Christ. Then as I began to start verse 14, so subtly and so calmly I found myself asking…why? As I read those first few words…”who gave Himself for us to redeem us”, I have to fight back tears.

Why Lord? Why are you good to us? You give us hope. You give us grace. You give us godly men to lead your church and raise up others. You give us a path through which we can walk and persevere in you. You give us direction. You do not leave us alone. Every time we call upon your name it NEVER returns void. You took upon yourself both the most horrendous of torture that this world has to offer, as well as the full and unbridled cup of God’s Wrath upon yourself that was solely reserved for us. You took it and you did so willingly.

Why Lord? When I look upon the world and mankind and see the atrocities we commit. The selfishness. The idolatry. The wars and destruction we cause through our arrogance and fallen hearts. Every moment of every day across the entire world sin is a constant.

Yet you took it all upon yourself…because we couldn’t. Why? What do you see that we don’t?

This is the hardest pill that I have ever had to swallow in my entire life…and many will have trouble getting down. Are you ready for this one? You weren’t meant to know why.

Mankind thirsts for knowledge and control. Both of which are God’s alone to command. Yet, in spite of our arrogance and our sin, we are truly priceless in His eyes. He is enamored with us. There is absolutely no other explanation I can come up with.

Why? Simply because He values us. And when the King values you, it goes infinitely beyond any other valuation that a person can have. Thank you Lord…

Soli Deo Gloria!!!!