Wow! The Christmas season is here once again. I love Christmas, don’t you? I know this sounds a bit cliché, but It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The birth and the life of Jesus, however, is anything but cliché. The King of Kings, the Savior of the World, was born in a humble stable made for farm animals. His life further displayed unparalleled miracles and qualities that throughout history people across the globe have read about, talked about, and followed after. Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, is the reason for the season. It is truly a time to celebrate, reflect, and grow.
Today, I’d like to put a magnifying glass over an aspect of Jesus life that is not often talked about. Yet, it was actually a primary quality that Jesus put at the forefront of His ministry. Sadly though, we often miss it. Time and time again, He purposely demonstrated this most powerful act, while we have looked right past it. Perhaps we are more inclined to study the miracles that Jesus did. We are intrigued by His power to prophecy and to have words of knowledge. To minister in the way Jesus did is certainly something to aspire after. All the more reason however, that we do not miss this one very important attribute.
What is this amazing attribute of Jesus? It’s value. Wherever Jesus went, and whomever He encountered, His objective was to stop, take the time, and truly value the individuals he was ministering to. Friends, this is so important to understand. We have got to open our spiritual eyes and see—I mean to truly identify—with how Jesus instilled value to people. Why? So that we can effectively do the same. Everybody needs to feel valued, right? To be valued is at the very core of every human being. Furthermore, I don’t believe we can effectively minister to people if they don’t feel valued by us. Maybe you have heard this famous quote by John Maxwell, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” This is so true.
How do you value others? I’m not talking about if you think others are important or valuable to you, I’m asking “how” do you intentionally place value and show (that’s a verb) others that they are precious and valuable human beings? Without exception this was at the forefront of Jesus’ life on planet earth. And God wanted to make sure we gleaned from each and every example by carefully having them recorded in His Word.
Many might say, “Yeah, but that was Jesus. He had special powers.” Let me remind you, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. Christmas reminds us of His humble birth in a dirty stable. Let’s not forget that He willingly laid his deity aside while here on earth (see Phil 2:6-7). Luke 2:52, says that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Jesus was, in his human nature, fully man. Therefore, He grew up through the stages of childhood and matured into an adult just like us, yet without sin. Why…why did He do this? To be our model. And one of the primary things He exemplified was how to value others. We ought to pay attention, right?
My brother-in-law (John-David) is a great example of one who values others. He is one who chooses to look at life as filtered through the hands of God. His glass is consistently half-full, and he outright refuses to follow the thoughts of those who think and speak from a half-empty mentality. I love that! John-David is also one of those people who purposely and genuinely goes out of his way to make you feel like you matter…not only to him and to family, but that you matter to the world around you. This kind of encouragement seems to come naturally from him, but I assure you that there are choices that he makes in the process each and every time. What is he choosing? He is choosing to value others and to make them feel valued. I for one, love to be around people like that. Don’t you?
Let’s look deeper into the life of Jesus. There are many examples, but I’ll just list a few:
Jesus had compassion and valued sinners. This seems like a no-brainer, right? Certainly, His sacrifice by going to the cross trumps everything. The value placed upon every human being was ultimately displayed by God through the cross. But in His earthly ministry, Jesus did not hesitate to surround Himself with sinners. In fact, he befriended and valued those that others wanted to avoid.
“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17 (See also Luke 15, Matt 18, 25:42, Eph 2:4-9)
Jesus valued children. In a time when children, widows, the sick, and the elderly didn’t have much status or respect, Jesus came and flipped all of society’s previously held perceptions. They all came to Him, worshipped Him, and were excited to be a part of His ministry (See Matt 21:15). Some, however, didn’t think children should be “distracting” Jesus from His greater ministry. In the book of Mark, however, Jesus rebuked His disciples for turning away those bringing children to Him. “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14-15). In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus told His followers, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10) Jesus made it clear that value and significance are not born of wealth, power, race, gender, influence, or age.
Jesus valued women. The cultural attitudes toward women in Jesus’ day were deplorable. There were no such thing as equal rights. Women were treated as second class citizens. Until Jesus came along. He restored value to women and treated them with honor and respect. This is most evident in the way he treated the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-42. No self-respecting Jewish Rabbi would give a woman—let alone a Samaritan woman with a nasty past like this one—the time of day. But Jesus did. At the end of their conversation Jesus told her to “go and sin no more.” But hear me, that instruction to her would have been totally non-effective had Jesus not first valued her as a human being. This is so key, and we dare not miss seeing into the heart of Jesus, as it should motivate us to reach out to people. Everyone…everyone is valuable.
And how about the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery (See John 8:1-11)? The Pharisees didn’t care about her. They only wanted to use her situation to trap Jesus. But they were no match for the love and grace of Jesus. He gave her something no one else would – grace, love, forgiveness and a second chance, “I’m not here to condemn you. Now go and leave your life of sin.” (See also Eph 5:25, Luke 10:38-42, Matt 28:10)
Jesus valued the poor. In Luke 8:43-48, Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’s daughter, who was dying. However, along the way, there was a woman who had been severely bleeding for 12 years. The woman was now in a state of poverty because of her illness. Her condition, which appears to be a form of hemorrhaging, affected her livelihood and well-being. Also, others would have considered her ritually unclean, leaving her as an outcast from the rest of society. in an act of sheer desperation, she reached out and touched the edge of Jesus’ cloak. She had hoped that the mere touch would heal her. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. Jesus could have just pressed on, but no, He took the time to stop and hear her story and testimony. Jesus knew He could not just keep walking and was being obedient to the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said, “Who touched me?” (vs 45), Peter’s response was basically, “Seriously Jesus, who knows?” — Since everyone was crowded against him while He was walking. But only when Jesus, stopped and took the time to value this otherwise outcasted woman, was it that He further recognized that she needed more than just a physical healing. The woman had fallen into a state of material poverty. As an outcast, she was both spiritually and emotionally poor. By giving the woman the opportunity to share her testimony and show how God had worked in her life, Jesus was able to restore her in these other areas as well.
Jesus valued the rich. The calling of the disciple Matthew as recorded by his own writing in the book of Mathew, is quit intriguing. As a tax collector for the Roman government, it was common knowledge that Matthew had become rich at the expense of the poor by extorting from them and had been filling his own deep pockets. He was rich and conceited. Yet, Jesus saw something else in Matthew. One day, while Matthew was working, Jesus locked eyes with him and said, “Follow Me!” In an instant, Matthew was so compelled that he walked away from his lucrative and secure lifestyle to follow Jesus. (See Matthew 9:9-13). What did Jesus do? He recognized value in Matthew when nobody (likely even his very own family) saw value in him. He was despised for his selfish lust for money, yet Jesus essentially said to him, “Come, be my friend.”
Jesus valued the church. To be clear, “The church,” has never been about a particular building or denomination. Jesus’ view of the Church included a diverse collection of men and women who were distinguishable, marked by the fact that they had been resurrected from spiritual death. Jesus saw the Church as being a source of overflowing goodness and generosity. Even in the hardest of external circumstances, the Church has always been rooted in an unshakeable and sure foundation, and therefore, it will always triumph. In fact, historically, the church has had its greatest growth and influence during times of adversity.
Jesus had a clear vision for his church. It is set out in his prayer in the garden, just before his arrest:
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23).
Jesus wants us, His global family/community, to be one. And it is our oneness that will show the world that God sent Jesus.
Jesus valued the Father. As earlier stated, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man when He came to physically walk planet earth. While here, He willingly laid down His deity in order to show us–as the ultimate example—how to stay connected to the Father.
Throughout His earthly life we see examples of Jesus taking time to pray (See Luke 3:21, 5:16, Matt 14:23, just to name a few…I found 29 references). Why did He pray? The obvious is the same reason we need to have conversations with God; we need His wisdom and guidance. Truly, Jesus valued His relationship with The Father more than anything else in life. If Jesus needed to stay connected in that way, where does that leave us? Jesus put it this way, “I am the vine, you are the branches, and the Father is the gardener. Stay connected to me, and the Father will prune off the bad fruit, and multiply the good fruit.” (My paraphrase…See John 15:1-7).
Perhaps the most compelling connection Jesus makes with God The Father comes from John 17:21, where Jesus prayed, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” True authentic Christian “love” is meant to distinguish believers from non-believers. True love is not cheap, it has deep value. The unbelieving world cannot see the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 5:11). All they see is how self-professed believers (the church) speak and act (Matt 5:13-16). More often than not, we are the only Bible they will see.
Recently Tracy and I were taking the time to reflect on past Christmases, even back to our childhood days. There are so many fond and loving memories. The Christmas season is known throughout the World as a time of giving. Perhaps you are aware of the 5 types of love languages (words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch), a well-known concept created by Dr. Gary Chapman. I think these are very inciteful. Receiving gifts is certainly most widely experienced during the Christmas Season. But if we truly want to value someone, we can’t just buy them a gift and expect that they will feel valued, especially at a time or event when gift giving itself is somewhat expected.
Christmas time is a great time to start being more intentional to be like Jesus and truly value others. Will you join me? I think we can all improve in this area, right? To value others is truly the heart of God, and we are here on this earth to re-present Jesus. Gifts are nice, and sometimes appropriate, but let’s just make sure we don’t take the easy route for the sake of our own convenience. Gods gift to us, and ultimately Jesus’ willingness to give His life as a sacrifice for us, was anything but convenient. Furthermore, His loving sacrifice is the ultimate way of showing us all (every human being) that we are valued.
We have so much to be thankful for and to share the true joy of Christmas is a great way to respond to God’s love. Particularly, the power of Gods love when we value others. May this Christmas Season be full of joy, peace, love, laughter, and expectation.
From our home to yours…Merry Christmas, and a very blessed and happy New Year.
Blessed by the Best,
Mark & Tracy
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