We’ve said before…. God does not consider one person better than another. He loves each precious soul equally. Because He loves equally, the price for salvation is one and the same for all – Jesus!
The price for our Salvation has already been paid – and amazingly – that’s for every single human that has been, that is and that will be. There is nothing we can do to earn it (Eph 2:8-9) – only accept it! We know of course that sadly, not all human beings will accept it.
This doesn’t mean however, that God doesn’t see some believers as more valuable than others. Now, I’m very careful as I say that, because every soul is equal in God’s eyes, it’s just that some will allow themselves to be used to further the Kingdom of God here on earth, more than others.
The value that God sees in us, is what we do with the free gift of Salvation He’s given us – through Jesus. We are not able to please God using our human nature (Rom 8:8). To be of value to Him, we need to be living out of our new resurrected nature, given to us when Jesus died on the cross (Rom 6:1-6).
Now – Is it possible that believers can receive salvation but are not really ‘consecrated’ to the Lord? Let’s look a bit deeper into this.
The word ‘consecrated’ means ‘dedicated to’.
I love to look into the Old Testament and see how or if, the ‘old scriptures’ can apply to us today. If we turn to the book of Leviticus chapter 27, we will see that if an Israelite of that day wanted to be ‘consecrated’ to the Lord, they had to pay an offering to the High Priest (Lev 27:1-8). In other words, if they publicly declared that they wanted to follow the Lord, then they had to pay an offering according to their personal value in the community. Their personal value was based on the criteria of age and gender: –
There were four catagories:
One month to Five years old – referred to as childhood
5 years to twenty years – referred to as youth
20 years to 60 years – referred to as adulthood
Sixty and above – referred to as being in decline
These were physical years of the old testament Israelites.
In our present day, we could compare the physical ages of the old testament Israelites to our spiritual ages. In other words, as we daily grow closer to the Lord, we are able to be used by Him more to further His Kingdom.
All believers are the same as far as Salvation is concerned, but with regard to spiritual strength – that varies with each believer. Our spiritual strength comes to us daily, by the power of the Holy Spirit – by the changes God brings about in us – not by us trying to impress God in our own strength.
And so.. as in the old testament – today, there could be four categories of believers:
One month to Five years – newly saved (where God uses them from day one – but lacking experience).
Five years to Twenty years – young believers (very zealous for the Lord – building experience).
Twenty years to Sixty years – adulthood (strong and experienced).
Above sixty years – had their estimation lowered in the old testament but it should not be – as seen in Psa 92 (Psa 92:14).
Even though we can compare old and new testament scriptures, we must remember, irrespective of our physical age, spiritual age, gender, culture or position in society, God will use us for the purpose of Glorifying Him and furthering His Kingdom on earth. The only qualification is…. a willing heart.
How can we be of more value to God? Well, as mentioned, we can’t do anything for Him in our old natures. We can, however, draw closer to Him. The closer we draw to Him, the deeper our relationship goes and the more we understand how God works on a daily basis. The more we understand Him, the more we can trust Him and therefore the more effectively He can use us for the greater good of the Kingdom of God (here on earth that is).
What do you feel your Godly value is right now?
Thanks so much for reading…. The Lord richly bless you and yours… until next time.