Lesson 12/23/07

THE VALUE OF CHRIST!
      People, as Ben Rumson reminded us in the movie Paint Your Wagon, have gummed up the planet good. Nevertheless, Christ died to take away the sins of the likes of you and me. Evidently, he sees something in us that we seldom see in ourselves.   But in Christ we catch a glimpse of the original design and, on our best days, we have the joy of seeing the Spirit use us to manifest the goodness of Christ toward others.
      It is for this reason, to better see Christ in others, that we have taken steps to become better acquainted with each other. Since August of this year, we've done this by looking at seven facts of various individuals. The class then has the opportunity to interview the person so as to clarify the given facts.
      With this in mind, here are seven facts of someone in our midst. See if you can guess who they describe. Trust me, you know this person!1
WHO?
- I was born in a small town.
- I grew up in a Christ-centered home.
- My favorite mode of transportation is walking.
- As a young man I was escorted to the edge of my hometown and told never to return.
- I have had good relationships with women all my life, but have remained single.
- Though my dad never taught me to fish, I turned out to be a very good fisherman!
- People do not put the title of "Doctor" in front of my name but many think of me as a physician.

      So what do you think? Who do these seven facts describe? Is it someone you know? Yes, it is someone you know. Or more precisely, it is someone who knows you.    Whether you are a member of the class or simply receive the lessons you know this person for, in fact, the seven facts are true of Christ. He did live in a Christ-centered home - just ask his brothers! Then too, since his dad was a carpenter, my guess is that no one in the family really learned how to fish - at least not well enough to be called a fisherman. And, as a young man, Biblically speaking, he was escorted out of Nazareth where the citizens of his hometown planned to throw him over a cliff. Clearly, this communicated the fact that they didn't want him around any longer!
      Christ Jesus! If we were able to interview him, as we have interviewed others in the class, we would find him, unlike us, to be without blemish or defect. For, in fact, that is how those who walked and talked with him in the flesh found him to be in person regardless of the day of the week. Even his enemies, those who tried their best to find fault with him, found him to be without blemish or defect.
      Indeed, this is how Peter describes him in I Peter 1:17 - 21. We read:
      Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
      In context, Peter is giving us a pep talk. He is encouraging us to walk in a manner pleasing to God. Not wanting us to be casualties of this war-torn world in which we live he is giving us good reason to always be prepared for anything that might be thrown our way.   The pep talk, as found in these verses, centers on the nature and value of Christ.
      Now what makes something so valuable that we hold on to it with a firm grip? What makes something so valuable that we keep our eye on it at all times? Well, when appraisers think in terms of "value" they think in terms of intrinsic value as well as extrinsic value. They think of the value something has within itself regardless of what others think of it and they they think of acquired value - the value someone places on it for a variety of personal reasons.
      Intrinsically, Christ is flawless. Inwardly, he was without defect. He is inwardly wired so that he always responds righteously. Or as Peter put it in v. 17, he judges each of us impartially. He is wired in such a way that he never shrinks back from saying the hard things, whether it is to those who know him personally or to those who are the children of darkness. Nor does he ever hesitate to commend his children.
      To put it another way, his inner compass is such that he never loses his focus.   The actions of others never disrupt his course, his mission in life. His mission, what his inner compass is locked on, is to save the lost.
      Outwardly, he is without blemish. If you were to look at how he handled himself in a multitude of situations, you would find that he handled life extremely well.   When he was unexpectedly interrupted by the pressing needs of those in the crowd he stopped and graciously met their perceived needs as well as their deepest needs. When he was attacked by the religious authorities he always came up with exactly the right answer - an answer that made them pause and take a hard look at themselves. And when his disciples disappointed him by their words and actions he always responded gently with the aim to correct and/or restore to wholeness.
      To appreciate Christ intrinsically, take a moment and write down as many characteristics of Christ as you can using each "letter" in the word "CHRIST." For example, "C" can stand for "compassionate." But there are other words that begin with "C" that are characteristic of Christ. So I challenge you to think of at least four characteristics for each letter. Use the space below -
      C
      H
      R
      I
      S
      T
Now take one of these "characteristics" and demonstrate it toward others as a gift to them this season. Tangible gifts are nice, as you can easily imagine, but the intangible gifts that Christ gives to us everyday of the year are far more precious, and costly, plus they never wear thin.
      But value is also acquired. I have a chess board that in itself is of very little value - maybe I could get $2 for it at a garage sale. But fifty plus years ago it was purchased for me, at Knotts Berry Farm, by the couple who raised by dad. It means a lot to me. It's one of my most valuable possessions. It has no intrinsic value, of course,   but it has what appraisers call extrinsic value. Appraisers would even say that I am the "right owner" of the chess board for I hold it in high regard.
      If we place extrinsic value in Christ, it is because we know better than anyone else what he has done for us personally. Peter prompts us to take a quick review of what our life looked like prior to being redeemed when he refers to the empty way of life handed down to us by our forefathers.
      When the gas gauge on our car tells us the tank is near empty we know what that means.   We even know what it means when our personal gas tank is near empty. But when Peter says we were redeemed from an "empty way of life" it's a phrase that needs to be fleshed out by each of us. We might flesh it out in this way,
      Before Christ, my life was empty of;
                        - love for myself.
                        - love for others.
                        - love for God.
                        - security.
                        - lasting laughter.
                        - inner peace.
                        - contentment.
                        - genuine friendships.
                        - joy.
                        - hope.
                        - a sense of dignity.
                        - all sense of a right direction.
                        - meaning.
                        -
      This inner emptiness that we have all experienced is compounded by the fact that the world does its best to drain us of all that Christ has to offer. At this time of year, for example, the world keeps us so busy we're robbed, if we're not careful, of the real joy of Christmas. Then too, the world might look at the above list and think that each item in itself is a pretty small thing. Not so! As I grow older, I am more and more convinced that the small things in this world are the really big things.
      With this in mind, let me conclude with a poem by Cliff Schimmels. It reads:
                        It's in the little things -
                        The beam in a child's eyes
                        Lights that twinkle
                        Cards from old friends
                        Laughter at the mall
                        Nuts and Oranges
                        The smell of cedar
                        Carols sung to shut-ins
                        The little gift that's just right
                        And a baby in a manger.
                        That's how we know that Christ is born
                        And there's meaning in the world.2