When you value something, you take exceptionally good care of it. How much more does Jesus take good care of us who He values above all else? See how the example of coin collecting relates to how Jesus values us.
* Many coins are found in circulation, when a valuable one is located by the collector it is immediately taken out of the world’s hands, it’s hand-picked and chosen to be apart of the collection. We were hand-picked, taken out of the world’s system in order to be adopted into Jesus’ family.
** Matthew 13:44-46 (NLT) 44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
* Many circulated coins are found abused, dirty, grimy, sticky because of how the world treated them. The collector will set up a cleaning station, using non-harmful chemicals and water. The collector will take each coin, gently clean it, and air dry it with a soft absorbent material. Like us, we came to the Lord with many issues wrong and He cleaned us up. He saw our hurts, He saw our faults, He saw our mistakes, He saw our abuse, He saw our struggles and yet He saw value in us we ourselves couldn’t see. He cleaned us up, healed our bodies, mended our hearts, restored our joy, removed our fears, and now we can be identified as His. We couldn’t see who we were under the abuse of the world but now that we’ve been cleaned we can see who we always were.
** 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NLT) 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.
* Now that the coins are dry and recognizable, they are ready for display. Depending on how the collector wants their coins to be seen, there are many methods to store coins. Arguably, the best method is called the ‘slab’ method. The coin is placed in a tamper-proof plastic case that allows the coin to be seen and it is protected from all environmental hazards. Now that we’ve been cleaned up, we are placed into the ‘slab’ Jesus Christ the Cornerstone, and hand-placed into the Father’s family for all to see. He has His watchful eye on us making sure no one can harm or steal us away.
** John 10:27-29 (NLT) 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
We are valued in His sight! What a loving Savior!