$16.492 Million

Last month, a single Pokemon card sold for $16.492 million.

Keep in mind, this is a piece of paper with ink on it that cost almost nothing to make.

So why is that one card so valuable?

Well, it's unique, well preserved, and it has an important place in the history of Pokemon.

But ultimately, the card is worth all those millions because someone decided to pay all those millions for it.

In an auction, the value of something is simply the highest amount someone decides to pay for it.

If I were to auction my shoe and someone paid 1 million dollars for it, then that means my shoe is worth 1 million dollars.

The buyer determines the worth, not the seller nor the item itself.

At the beginning of Lent, we are reminded that we "are dust and to dust we shall return" (Genesis 3:19)

Lent begins with the proclamation of our worth: we are mere dust!

Lent ends with the proclamation of our worth: God paid His very life for the chance to win us back!!!!

The God and Creator of all things, abandoned the bliss of heaven to take on all the bitterness and ugliness of sin to the point of death in order to claim YOU for His own.

You might look at yourself and just see dust, or ink on a piece of paper, or an old shoe.

You might think to yourself, "I'm junk! Sure, I can do a few tricks, but there's no way anyone, God or human, could really see that much worth in me"

But we don't get to decide our value, only the one who is paying does.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45-46)

We might think the cost paid for us is preposterous, absurd, ridiculous, and maybe flat out stupid.

That's fine.

But what's paid is paid, and that cost is the final proclamation of our value.

The true crime then is to not give God His due.

It would be like paying $16.492 million for a Pokemon card, and then having the card decide it would rather be used as a napkin in a random restaurant.

"Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God" (Mark 12:17)

We give ourselves away all the time.

We give ourselves to projects, relationships, distractions, vices, politics, and gossip.

But we belong to God!

He made us and paid dearly for us.

It doesn't matter if we deem ourselves worthy of His love, He has deemed us worthy.

So let us stop wasting time bemoaning our worthlessness.

And let us stop wasting time busying ourselves with silly projects to increase our worth.

Instead, let us go straight to the one who paid everything for us.

That's our whole job - to accept to belong to the One who values us beyond our understanding.

Always and in all things, belong to Jesus Christ, the crucified Lord.

Let's be Saints!

Isaac