And the Soul Felt Its Worth

Embracing Hope and Purpose through Christ

Oh Holy Night

[…]
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
[…]

Have you ever stopped to consider the beauty and power of these words? Since the fall, the world is pining.

Pining: failing gradually in health or vitality, especially from grief, regret, or longing.
—Dictionary.com

Sin has not impacted only humans but all of creation. Paul describes all of creation, anticipating the coming Messiah and deliverance from sin. (Romans 8:18-25) But we are definitely suffering in sin, anxiety, and hopelessness. On our own, there is very little to give us any hope for a better future.

You look at politics, economy, education, nationally and globally, and it feels pretty hopeless. We feel small, and our efforts feel futile. That is our state apart from God. Free agents, but facing such massive forces that all our efforts feel small and inconsequential.

Why bother being kind?
Why be honest and do the right thing?

What’s the point? Nothing will ever change; people will take advantage of you. You worked so hard to get where you are. Why take the little you have to help someone else who probably did not work as hard as you did? Why would you help others when no one seems to help you?

You work hard to get ahead, so you can help those who are lazy? Less intelligent? Less capable?

Maybe you feel stuck carrying the brunt of the work and responsibilities. The rich have freedoms you don’t have, and the poor have assistance that is not available to you. So you are stuck working hard, grinding, why should you lift a finger to help someone else?

Take it one step further, why not live completely selfish lives? The less you give, the more you have for yourself! And if you cheat and lie, you can have even more!
Why be honest in business?
Why be faithful to your spouse?
Why care about anything or anyone beyond yourself?

till He appeared

What makes all the difference in the world is God. When Jesus was born, we finally began to realize our worth to God. As the lyrics to “O Holy Night” say so eloquently, “till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

Who appeared? Jesus. We may be familiar with baby Jesus born in a manger, but that event becomes more significant when we consider who Jesus is as God. Here’s what Paul has to say about Jesus in his first letter to the believers in Corinth.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
— 1 Corinthians 1:15-18 NKJV

John, in his gospel, refers to Jesus at first as the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
[…]
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
— John 1:1-5, 9-14 ESV

Jesus set aside His glorious power and chose to be born a helpless babe in a manger. God’s choice to become one of us and live here on earth, never using His power for His own good, is an incredible demonstration of His great love for us, and a reminder of the great value He places on every human life.

When Jesus appeared, we finally felt our true worth. We don’t get to rank our worth or that of other human beings. God decides our worth, and God thinks we are to die for.

A Thrill of hope!

What motivates me to get up each morning? God loves me! Life is not hopeless. We are not alone. We matter. We matter to God if not to anyone else. People around me may not deserve my love and care. People around me may not deserve my efforts to help them. People around me may very well be reaping the consequences of their previous actions. But God loves them too. Because Jesus was born as a baby 2,000 years ago, I should also feel the worth of the soul of my enemy.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
— Romans 5:8 NKJV

Jesus was not only born as a baby in a manger, but He also grew up, lived, taught, healed, and died for us. The Bible is not a book of instructions teaching us how to reach God; it is a story of God reaching us. So I face my day with hope despite all the tangible reasons for hopelessness. I can be kind despite not receiving kindness from those around me. I can be loving towards those who do not deserve it because I live my life from the sense of worth that comes from what God has done and continues to do for me.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
—Romans 3:23-26 NKJV

The way I behave towards others is not because of what they have done or could do for me. My behavior towards others is shaped and motivated by what God has done for me. I live my life as a loving response to a God who has rescued me from sin and death. I am not trying to earn my salvation. I am living in freedom, with the assurance of salvation purchased by Jesus on the cross. A full and complete salvation that is not lacking in any way. I do not need to complete or add to my salvation. I am not trying to earn God’s love. There is nothing I can do that would cause God to love me more than He does right now. My past behavior also does not make Him love me any less.

My behavior and my life are a response to His great love. God’s love for me transforms my life. I have invited Jesus into my heart, and I daily seek to do His will. I want Jesus to live out His will within me.

Practical Application

I began this post reflecting on all the valid reasons everyone has for anxiety and even despair. There are plenty of political, economic, and social reasons for depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. Arguments could be made in favor of living a selfish life with no moral standards.

So why should we be any different? Why do we go through life with hope and joy? We live in the same world as everyone else and at times feel like we have it harder than most, yet why do we continue to treat others with love and care? Why do we volunteer? Why do we go out of our way to help those who could never repay us?

Salvation is not by works. I am not familiar with any mathematical equations in which good deeds done on earth increase the square footage of your house in heaven. If your good deeds on earth do not increase your eternal reward, why do them? Your salvation is based on what Jesus did for you; you are covered by His righteousness and not your own (Acts 2:38; 4:12; John 14:6; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 3:23-26; 1 Corinthians 1:30). So why bother with obedience?

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
—Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV (bold mine)

We are God’s workmanship, and we were created for good works. There is a satisfaction that comes from doing what we were made to do that cannot be compared to any other work we can do with our lives. God loves us, He rescued us, and He knows what is best for us. The things we think will make us happy don’t; what God calls us to do, which often looks like sacrifice and goes against our culture, is precisely what will give us the most joy and fulfillment.

Here’s how I think of it.

You are free to live your life however you want. You can walk away from God, curse His holy name, and live a completely selfish life of debauchery and hedonism. Go ahead, knock yourself out. But just a word of warning. You will not find true joy or fulfillment in that life. It will be empty, and you will seek increasingly more debased forms of entertainment and pleasure. It will leave you hollow, it will fill you with despair and hopelessness, and there will be pain and suffering and shame.

You are also free to live a life of service, looking for opportunities to help someone in need. A life in which you look at what God has given you, and you look for ways to use it for the benefit of another. A life of ministry is difficult; it can be frustrating, exhausting, and often thankless. But you will know that, small as it may be, you are making an impact for good in this world that is full of suffering. You will know it in your heart that you are doing what Jesus did, mingling with others and meeting their needs according to your abilities. You are being salt and light.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
—1 Corinthians 10:23 NKJV

You are not saved by works, but your life is shaped by your actions. Your actions impact the quality of your life and the quality of the lives of those around you. Your life and the lives of those you love most could be better. You can only control your actions and reactions, but that can have a seismic impact not only on your life but in the lives of those who interact with you. It is not about earning salvation; it is about faithfulness to God, love for our neighbor, and lessening the suffering in the world, even if it's one person at a time. Even if you alleviate the suffering of one person, for a moment, it is meaningful.

From personal experience, it is vital to seek God’s wisdom to set healthy boundaries. And to know the difference between service and exploitation. There are those who will take advantage of you. I am still learning this part. I make plenty of mistakes. I tend to err on the side of grace, but just because I make mistakes and, at times, I am taken advantage of, I cannot lose sight of the mission. I must resist the temptation to become cynical and give up.

I love others because God loved me first.

I care and look for ways to help because Jesus died for them as much as He died for me. How they respond is between them and God. I am called to faithfulness; the results are in God’s hands. I focus on following God’s will and allow others the same freedoms God allows me. They choose how they will live their lives just as I decide how I will live mine.

I get up in the morning and face the day with “a thrill of hope” that makes no sense outside of Jesus. I go to sleep with “a peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) because of the God I love. My actions are not based on the people around me; they are motivated by the God who loves me and grants me what I need in order to minister to others.

I must find my strength and my reason for living in Jesus. With Jesus as my rock, I can bless those around me. I can only do this as God enables me. It is impossible to live the life Jesus calls me to live if I rely on my own strength. Therefore, my mission keeps me connected to Jesus because I need His wisdom and strength to accomplish that which He has called me to do. The more I am connected to Jesus, the clearer my mission becomes, and in this process, my faith grows, and I understand the heart of God a little bit better.

Call to action

My challenge for you this holiday season, and as we go into a new year, is to seek Jesus and learn from Him what He would have you do with your life. You can pursue happiness and never find it. Or you can seek Jesus and find true joy and purpose, and an inexhaustible source of strength and wisdom for life here on earth, as well as eternal life when He comes again.