“When Jesus heard this, He said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.’ Then He added, ‘Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: “I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.” For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.’” (Matthew 9:12-13 NLT)
When do you most desire medicine? Unless it is “preventative,” and you take it routinely, it becomes more important when you’re sick, when you need it most. And the sicker you are, or, in other words, when you’re most desperate for that medication, it’s even more precious to you.
My dear wife has a skin condition she’s had since she was a young girl. The medication she’s now on is expensive, but her concern isn’t: “It’s so expensive!” It’s only: “I sure hope it arrives on time!” What’s my point? We value what we know we need! The greater the demand, the higher the price, and the greater the need, the stronger our desire to have it.
People don’t value Jesus because they’re ignorant of their need of Him! They hear that salvation is a “free gift” of grace, and they discount its value. They’re unaware that one drop of the Savior’s blood is of incalculable worth, yet He was willing to pay that extravagant price to provide a way so that sinners who recognize their need of Him could find a way home to Him.
Is Jesus precious to you? He is to me, more so with every passing day. The closer I get to heaven, the closer I want to be to Jesus. In some ways He’s like my “passport” to heaven. I have an expired passport that just lays in a drawer. Why? Because I have no perceived need of it. I have no international trips planned; thus, no urgency to get it renewed. But when I need it, there’s no substitute.
Too many are like that with Jesus. Eternity is the furthest thing from their mind, or, if they do think about it, they believe some version of “I’m a good person,” so, Jesus, to them, isn’t necessary. A lot of movies today convey the idea that since my loved one has died, I want to die to be with them, never stopping to ask a critical question: “Where are they?”
Presumably, they went to “a better place,” but how do we know that? Where is that “better place” and how do we get there? How can I prepare myself so that I can know that’s where I’m going? It saddens me to see a mobster’s funeral. The priest reads Scripture and pronounces blessings over their “departed brother.” He may have been their brother and he’s certainly departed, but he’s certainly not in a better place. He’s in hell where he belongs.
How can I be so harsh and quick to judge? Because redeemed people, people of God, live like it. They don’t traffic in drugs, teens and children, they don’t murder, swindle, and treat others like they’re dirt under their fingernails. They love God and others and treat them accordingly. Yes, of course, we have a sin nature, but by God’s grace and with His power, we put our practices of sin, our habitual sin, behind us and we don’t treat people as things to be used and discarded.
Jesus can never be precious to us until we see Him as our only hope. Jason Wing said it well when he wrote: “If you never see your need for a savior Jesus will never be precious to you.” Is He precious to you?
When He’s precious to us, we’ll freely share Him with others, especially with those who don’t yet think He’s precious.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 