A lady purchased a book at a garage sale because it was inexpensive, had a quaint look, and would fit well on her vintage shelf. While dusting a few weeks later she noticed it again and decided to research the author. She also checked a selling site to see if her book had value. Someone had the same book for sale, same first edition, for $750. She was pretty excited until she checked the completed listings. The actual sales of the book weren’t anywhere near $750.
Sometimes values change. The value of gold may go up. A new car depreciates considerably as soon as it is driven off the lot. A home may appreciate or depreciate depending on the economy and what happens to the property around the home. Perhaps when you consider the word “valuable” you think of something less tangible, such as your family or a friendship or your job or your education.
In Philippians 3 Paul relates his personal accomplishments and family line, all of which would seem of great value; but he says that he counts these as garbage, “rubbish,” compared to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”(v.8).
When you see something as valuable, you put forth effort to attain it and protect it. If you know Christ as Savior, you have a great treasure which you did not earn but will never lose: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”(John 17:3). But there’s much more available to you: building your relationship with God and gaining knowledge of the Son of God. “And he gave the apostles . . . the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood”(Ephesians 4:11-13). We must take advantage of that priceless provision; we must value spiritual maturity and our relationship with the Savior.
When the lady mentioned in the first paragraph above researched the author of her antique book, she discovered that he was hearing impaired. He lived in the late 1800s, a time when society tended to look down on individuals who couldn’t hear, and therefore kept his hearing difficulty secret. The lady had some hearing-impaired friends, so learning this information about the author suddenly made her more interested in the author’s book. In the same way, you can be certain that the more you learn about the God who provided his Word, and the Savior who is called “the Word”(John 1), the more interesting the study of his Word will be.
Remember, however, that understanding of God grows only when we labor to understand exactly what he intends to communicate in his Word. Taking an isolated phrase here or there and interpreting or emphasizing it based on what we’re feeling or what is happening around us does not constitute an effort to understand what is actually being communicated in a particular passage, no matter how wholesome or spiritual-sounding our thoughts may be. God has not provided his Word to be a vague piece of literature or an abstract piece of art open for whatever interpretation we feel like making. If this sounds confusing, see the helps for Bible study provided on this blog for more explanation. Remember that God desires us to know him better, to understand his Word, so it’s very possible; but we need to see God as the communicator of it, not our earthbound, limited, self-centered emotions!