ICS Daily Devotions
You Are Priceless
John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Many people identify themselves in their “doing”, measuring their significance based on their achievements, but sadly, it is an insecure foundation because it is established on our “doing”. As believers, we shouldn’t depend on man to be our cheerleader in building our identity. Instead, God should be our greatest and most esteemed cheerleader. Our new identity in Christ was given to us purely by the grace of God. It is established on our “being”—being in Christ. We don’t need to perform but rest on the complete work of Jesus. It is an unshakeable foundation because it has to do with what God has done for us, and not what we do; by our own efforts, we will never be able to achieve the status given to us. The highest approval that we can have and the only one that will help us to be settled in our hearts is from God alone.
This Scripture shows us that we are priceless in the sight of God. God showed His love for us despite our spiritual bankruptcy by sending His only Son to die for us. Our self-worth should be established on these truths.
When we were unbelievers, we developed our identity and self-worth based on our achievements in order to gain acceptance and praise from man. Not only is it tiring, but also short-term because most people operate on Phileo love—a conditional love. They will only love, praise and accept us as long as we perform or there is something in it for them.
It is liberating when we realise that we are priceless in the sight of God when God sent Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross of Calvary—that’s Agape love which is unconditional. Jesus would still have come to die for you even if you were the only person on earth, because He is the Good Shepherd who will leave the 99 to look for the one lost sheep. His love for us has nothing to do with our worth but His grace. All we need to do is to accept what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
God gave us the right to become His children. We are the children of the most high God. Therefore, let us add on our identity in Christ. We are His children and we are loved by Him.
Sermon Series: He Came to Give You a New Identity
