Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Zechariah 11:12, “Then I said to them, ‘If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.”

Background

I caught the last few minutes of a program that my wife was watching the other night. It was one of those Extreme Makeover shows where they chronicle an overweight person as she tries to lose a bunch of weight over a certain amount of time. And when I tuned in, they were about to have the final weigh-in to see if she had met her goal. But what should have been a ten second event was stretched out for more than fifteen minutes. When she got on the scales, different numbers starting flashing to raise the suspense as to whether she had gotten below the magical number or had fallen just short. Finally, after recapping the entire show and replaying for a second time the moment of her stepping on the scale, her weight was revealed, and her joy was realized as she weighed three pounds lighter than she was aiming for.

Application

But what if instead of stepping on a scale, she, or we, were standing before our employer, or someone even more meaningful, and we asked them to give us what we were worth, and not just for the prior week, but for the course of our life? And not what we thought we deserved or what might match our title or role, but what seemed good and right for them to give us. And then, what would be your reaction, as the values flashed up on the screen, some impressive and some less so, until it finally settled at the value that was being given to felons convicted for life? And not just any felons, but especially the one who had murdered someone in your family. Would you be outraged? Would you see the full intent of the insult and respond with bitter cries about injustice? Or would you consider that perhaps you’re not all that you thought you were, and in fact, you are much worse than you could imagine? There are hundreds of paths that could lead us to grasp and appreciate who we are and what Jesus did for us. You are on one now. But so is everyone else. So our grace can’t be just big enough to fall just short of another’s weakness. God’s scales are much too big for that.

Charge

As we seek Him today, lay your self-importance and ego at the feet of Jesus. Take up a towel and serve someone that God loves.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words