Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, December 3, 2023
I love to cook and bake, so I have more than one set of measuring spoons. Which, as you will see from my photo above, is a very good thing. I bought these spoons as a third set, not so long ago. I suspect I didn’t pay much for these, but I did expect them to last longer than they did.
But, no. The measurement amount has worn off three of these measuring spoons, and is on its way out on the fourth. They’re worthless, so I threw all four away. Only the ½ Tb. spoon remains legible, because my recipes don’t call for that amount very often.
Worthless. Oxford Languages online dictionary definition: “Having no real value.” And, referring to a person: “Having no good qualities; deserving contempt.”
Ouch. Seems a bit harsh.
When I was suffering from a job loss (and “suffering” is the right word) I struggled with feeling worthless. Browsing in a Christian store I saw a keychain with one small wooden word dangling from it: “Worthy.”
I stared at the word for a few minutes as I fingered it. I hesitated, then bought it. I hesitated because it seemed almost wrong to proclaim myself worthy.
I bought it because I remembered that it is Jesus who calls me by that name. You, too.
We measure our worth, not in teaspoons or tablespoons, but in unlimited love. We see its full measure when we watch Jesus agonizing in Gethsemane, then enduring the illegal night trials and extreme abuse, and dying on the cross — all for love of us.
John 3:16 may be the most well-known single verse in the Bible, and for good reason. The beginning of First John 3:16 is a companion verse: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (NIV)
And so we respond by proclaiming that He is worthy of all our praise:
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
Revelation 5:11-12 (NIV)