A Godly Perspective of Precious Things

By John Ashley

There are many things in life which we hold as precious.  We call the rare material goods: “precious metals” or “precious gems.”  Rare works of art are considered to be precious.  Those tangible items that we consider precious, are so called, because of the fact that they are rare and maybe even one of a kind.

Our son Johnny was a very precious person.  He was one of a kind himself.  He loved the fact that other people would consider him precious.  When we would go somewhere and people would make eye contact with him and smile, he would always ask, “Why are the smiling at me?”  My response was always “They think you are precious.”  This would always put a smile on his face and he would hold his head a little higher and stick out his chest, as if to say, “I guess I am precious.”

Albert Einstein said, “The most precious things in life are not those you get for money.”  I would have to agree.  In my own life I hold most precious the things that that have cost me little, but have given great rewards.  My family is very precious to me, the relationships I have with close friends and family.  These are the things that really matter in life.  The rare things that God has blessed me with that bring a smile to my face when I think about them.  All of us have those things we hold precious and we need to be grateful to God for the rare and maybe one of a kind experiences or relationships we have.

There are a few things that God says are precious in His word; well including His word.  Many of the things God holds as precious we might not agree with from time to time.  I would like for us to consider two things that God holds precious that may not immediately bring a smile to our face.

• The Lord holds precious the death of his saints, Psalm 116:15  “ Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”  This is a hard idea to “wrap our heads around.”  God looks at death as a precious thing?  The key phrase is “his saints.”  Those that have a relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ are considered saints according to the Word of God.  For the saints death is victory!! 1 Corinthians 15:55-57  “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  I can only imagine the smile on the face of the believers in Christ as they step into Heaven!!  God gets to witness the looks of astonishment and joy on the faces of the saints as they enter into glory.  That to Him is precious.
• The Lord also considers the trials we face as a precious thing, 1 Peter 1:7  “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”  As our faith is put to the test, the Lord counts it as a precious thing.  The pain and problems we face here on earth will someday become praise and honor before our Lord.  This concept most times is not a comfort as we go through the testing, but it is through the testing that we look to God to help us.  It is those times in our lives that our faith is real to us and our relationship to our Father becomes closer.  So to Him, those times of testing and dependence upon Him are precious.

Even in the eyes of God the precious things in life cannot be purchased.  It is a rare person that can see life and death through the perspective of the Lord and identify those things He holds precious.  Which includes everyone of us!