EmmDev 2016-09-16 [Treasure in Clay Pots (2Cor)] Worth it.

Worth it.

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.      (2Corinthians6:1-2)

The movie "Saving Private Ryan" is about 8 soldiers who are sent to save one private who is the last remaining son of a mother who has already lost 3 sons in the war. It's a perilous and unusual mission: 8 elite men sent to save one lowly private - there is no strategic value to their mission except saving a mom's last son. By the end of the movie, all eight rescuers have died and Private Ryan is saved. Throughout the movie one question is asked again and again "is it worth it?" At the end of the movie, as he is dying, Captain Miller urges Private Ryan "Earn this." The scene shifts to Arlington cemetery where Private Ryan, now an old man, falls on the ground with his large family in the background saying "Was I a good man? Did I earn this?"

Paul has been reflecting on Jesus' incredible death in our place. Unlike Captain Miller, Paul doesn't ask us to "earn this."
We can never earn God's love. We can never do anything good enough to deserve the sacrifice that Jesus made.

Although we could never earn or pay back the price that Jesus paid on the cross, the wonderful news is that He considered you and me "worth it!" He loved us - even in the depths of our brokenness - and considered us worth dying for.

However, there is always the danger that we can take this amazing grace for granted. We can receive God's grace "in vain" - we can undervalue the worth of His death and keep living for ourselves. Do you remember vs.15 from the previous chapter?
"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

What is the worth of Jesus' death to you?
We don't have to earn it, but we can be influenced, impacted, instigated, impelled, incited, invigorated, inflamed and inspired by His death.

When people look at my life would they conclude that Jesus' death was in vain?

With all my being I hope not!

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