So Precious I have to tell

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. 1 Peter 2:7

What is precious?

I’ve been pondering this word in my devotions this week while looking at the current difficult circumstances of my life.

Are the challenges I face now worth the price of my calling to follow my Savior?

Is following Jesus worth it?

Some of these challenges are the direct result of launching this ministry to an international level in the Americas.

Hours of travel by plane and bus and cars.
Living by offerings, monthly support, and conference fees.
Speaking in dangerous places in Latin America where personal safety is not guaranteed.
Leaving my house at 4 am to teach all day and get home by 1:30am.
Learning to communicate, preach and teach in Spanish.
Other discomforts and challenges that affect my family that we didn’t have before 2007.

Are these challenges worth the price of our calling to follow my Savior?

Yes.

My relationship with Christ is the most precious thing in my life. Obedience to His calling brings our family joy.

Seeing the fruit of this calling brings with it a deep reward that is indescribable.

When a person pulls me aside and tells me how they’ve been impacted by our teaching — it’s all worth it.

When people ask me “How can I start following Jesus too?” It’s all worth it.

A piece of furniture

In 2006, I built a book case out of oak lumber.

Three base cabinets, with sunken panel doors on a platform base. On top of the cabinets, I built three shelf units. All trimmed out.

This was a gift for my wife. Built it for Mother’s Day. See it in our living room against the wall.

Took months to build it. About $800 in materials.

With a labor of love, I made sure the miter joints were flush, the doors opened correctly, and the cabinets were square.

I had built tables (including the one on the right), the checkerboard on the table, some little boxes, and a few other things, but never before had I tried to build and finish a project like this.

It’s just a piece of furniture right?

No.

This furniture is precious.

So precious that we cannot put a value on it.
So precious that it moved with us when we moved to our current city.
So precious that we tell all who see it that it was built by my hands as a gift for my wife.

So precious that we tell

Peter declares that to us who believe, that stone is precious.

Of what value to you is your relationship with Jesus?

The question stirring in my heart during my devotions this week is “just how precious is the Savior to me?”

The more I explore the depths of that value, the meaning of that word, I notice something bubbling from inside of me.

I want to tell somebody.

Because my relationship with my Savior is so precious, I want other people to know. Just like we take pride in revealing to others that I built that bookcase, I take pride in telling others about how precious is my relationship with the Lord.

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. 1 Peter 2:7