Worth the cross

It started with a frozen slushie.

Earlier this year, American Family Association (AFA) staff and their families were invited to attend a theatrical screening of the new movie Light of the World (lightoftheworld.com), which recounts Jesus’ life and miracles through the eyes of His disciple John. From the Salvation Poem Project, the film opened in theaters in early September.

I took my own children to see the film, hoping it would stir their hearts, but God began to stir my own heart even before I made it to my seat.

As I waited in the concessions line, AFA President Tim Wildmon stood at the counter with his grandsons. He turned to me, pointing to the register, and said, “I just got four slushies, and look at this!”

The total? Over $30.

“That used to be a meal for two at Outback!” he said. Then he added, “No slushie is worth over $7!”

We laughed and moved on, but that sentence, that thought, stuck with me: “No slushie is worth that.”

A casual comment made in jest on the price hike of a frozen soda, but it stuck – because it echoed a deeper truth about how we live, constantly calculating worth.

We have become fixated on value, assigning worth to our time, energy, belongings, opportunities – and even people. We ask ourselves daily: Is this worth the effort? Is that worth the risk? Are they worth my time?

The world feeds it. It trains us to measure the value of ourselves – and others – based on performance, appearance, productivity, status, and success. It tells us that our worth is defined by how much we earn, how we look, our social status, or how impressive we appear online.

And if we don’t measure up to these worldly standards? We must not be worth very much.

Thankfully, God doesn’t measure worth by the standards of the world. God measures our worth through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

A different standard

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

He didn’t die for us when we had it all together. He didn’t wait until we were cleaned up and impressive. He didn’t choose to accept us because we went viral on social media.

“While we were yet sinners” – that’s when God looked at us. In our deepest shame, darkest sins, and at our very worst, that is when God said: “I’m going to send my one and only Son to die for you.”

That doesn’t mean we were worthy of the sacrifice. We weren’t! Inherently sinful, we don’t deserve what Jesus did for us on the cross, and we have done nothing to earn it.

But the beauty of Jesus’ death is that it was never intended to declare how good we are, but to declare how great He is. His love gives us worth that we never could have created for ourselves.

That is what grace does. Grace doesn’t declare how valuable we are based on the world’s standards; it declares how vast His love is. It doesn’t try to flatter us or pretend we are enough. It says, “You could never be enough, but I’ve made a way anyway.”

And that is what makes grace so astounding. It doesn’t put value on our efforts; it transforms our very identity.

The little things

In Matthew 10:29 and 31, Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. … So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

God keeps track of every sparrow. What does this tell us? The little things matter to Him. The small moments that no one else sees, the silent struggles we try to tuck away, the whispered prayers, the hidden tears – He sees them. It is in those very moments that no one else sees that He calls us valuable to Him. In those moments, He looks at us and says, “You. I see you.”

As though that scriptural truth, directly from Jesus, was not a bold enough reminder, sometimes God finds personal moments in our lives – even humorous ones – to remind us of our value to Him.

A gospel reminder

A few nights after we watched Light of the World, I was once again reminded of my value in Christ. But this time, it was through a card collection instead of a slushie. My 11-year-old son, Brayden, was showing his cards to his father, Bo, who serves as AFA director of campus operations. Brayden was explaining to Bo which cards were worth the most and what made one more valuable than another. He shared details about which cards were rare, which were worth more, and which were the shiniest.

During his explanations, Brayden commented, “This one is really old! It’s from the 1990s! So, it’s worth a lot!”

Laughing, Bo responded, “Dude, I’m from 1984. And I’m not worth anything.”

Without skipping a beat, Brayden said, “Well, you are to me!”

It was an innocent, unfiltered, beautiful moment – a reminder of the heart of the gospel. A reminder that even when we don’t feel as valuable as another, and the world says we’re not worth anything, God says, “You are to Me.”

When we feel like a discarded collector’s card – dull, tattered, worn at the corners – God still looks at us through the lens of His love and reminds us that we were worth the cross to Him.

Cross-centered gratitude

As Thanksgiving draws near, it’s easy to list the usual blessings: family, health, provision, community. These are good things to be thankful for, and they deserve to be celebrated. But let’s not lose sight of the one thing that is at the foundation of them all: the cross.

This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for a Savior who didn’t wait for us to earn His love … for a God who paid full price for our souls without hesitation. He didn’t ask for a discount on damaged goods or request a refund when we failed. He knew the cost, paid it in full, and never looked back.

Let’s give thanks that in a world fixated on merit-based worth, God offers grace-covered value.

A worth we can walk in

This isn’t a message to keep to ourselves, but one that we are called to walk in, live out, and share with those around us. Countless people, even those working in ministry, still carry the weight of “not enough.” Jesus didn’t die to make us “enough” or to affirm our value based on what we could offer. Jesus died to give us what we could never earn for ourselves – a place in Him. In Him, we find a worth that no job title, bank account, relationship, reputation, or social media following could ever secure.

So, this Thanksgiving, let’s not only be thankful for the blessings around us, but for the grace within us – a grace that cost Jesus everything. A grace that tells us even when nothing else says we’re valuable, God still says, “You are to Me.”

After all, while a $7 slushie might not be worth the price tag, your soul was – and always will be – worth the cross.