I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Isa. 13:12.

Of far greater value than all the gold of Ophir, with which Solomon overlaid the sanctuary in Jerusalem, is the human soul.

The poet Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper and by writing a poem on it make it worth $6,000. That is genius. A Rockefeller can sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions. That is capital. Uncle Sam can take silver, stamp a symbol on it, and make it worth one dollar. That is money. An artist can take a two-dollar piece of canvas, paint on it, and make it worth $100,000. That is art. But God can take young men and young women, wash them in the blood of Christ, capture their hearts and minds, put His Spirit and mind within them, transform them, make them like unto Joseph, Daniel, Paul, or Himself. That is redemption. What is the history of Egypt without a Moses or a Joseph? What is the record of the city of Babylon without a Daniel and the three Hebrews, men of truth, honesty, fidelity, and purity?

At Calvary we witness the highest price paid for anything the blood of the Son of God, the ransom paid for our redemption. With God we far outweigh in value the sum total of everything that is in or on this earth.

One of the most important questions we can ask is Who am I? Do I have value for God or just for myself and for the state? What is personal fulfillment for me? Evolution tells us that man is a little higher than the animals, a thing of earth and returnable to (lust, a child of the beasts. The Bible affirms that we were made sons and daughters of God. God made us in His image. So when we come to worship, each Sabbath, we know who we are. We can say: "I am a child of God. I have a capacity to respond to Him and to love Him in return." Our being born in sin and living in sin is not mere misfortune. It is a departure from God.

The coming of Christ into our world, assuming our nature and living as a man, means that we have a heavenly Father who has taken sides with us. We are not alone. This is seen in the greatness of the salvation provided for us in Jesus Christ.