Something of Value
— Part 2 of 4

When I was a kid, credit cards didn’t exist. You couldn’t buy anything if you didn’t have the money. The exception was the feed store, which would give supplies to farmers with the promise of payment at harvest time.
The week before Easter, I went to the drugstore and bought an ice cream cone in exchange for an egg, which was possible because eggs were in short supply, of more value to the store than an ice cream cone. Life was so simple back then.
I got a weekly allowance of twenty-five cents and saved every penny. One day in the hardware store, I saw an electric jigsaw that cost fifteen dollars. I dreamed of drawing animals on a piece of wood and cutting them out. How could I get the money? Easy. Get Daddy to buy it for me and then keep my twenty-five cents for as long as it took to offset the cost.
“Sure,” Daddy said, “you can have the jigsaw. But not until after you’ve saved the money.”
When I did have the money, I wasn’t ready to give all I had. My perception of value had changed.
Sometimes I ask, “Who is the first person in the Bible that you want to see when you get to Heaven? Excluding Jesus, of course.” Moses, Abraham, and Peter are the most popular names, followed by the apostle Paul and John.
As soon as I pass the pearly gates, I want to talk to the woman that Jesus pointed out in the Temple. This woman gave everything she had. Obviously, she had a reason, and I would like to know what it was. Evidently, she thought the value justified the sacrifice of everything she had.
Our relationship with Christ can’t be bought on credit, but is it worth the cost of everything we have? That would depend on how much we value the relationship.
Jesus said, “The truth is, the poor widow has given more than all the others. Everyone else gave a portion of their abundance that they will never miss, but she has given all she had to live on.” – Luke 21:3–4 from Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story