There is an astounding statement in 1 Peter 2:6 about Jesus Christ that stands as a challenge to each of us who claim to be his followers. Peter describes Jesus as “a cornerstone chosen and precious.” Think about it: he is chosen of the Father and precious! He is of immeasurable value to God the Father and must therefore be precious and of immeasurable value to us! Treasuring Christ is God’s response to Christ and therefore should be ours.
Consider this. God is omniscient. He knows everything. He sees not merely the outward appearance but the inner reality. Nothing is hidden from him. And above all that, he has limitless wisdom and discernment. He knows what is valuable and what isn’t. He knows what is of great worth and what is worthless. And according to 1 Peter 2:6, God says that Jesus, his Son, is infinitely precious.
If God embraces his Son as indescribably and incomparably precious, shouldn’t we also? One of the primary functions of the church, perhaps even the most important function of the church, is that we prize Jesus as precious so that all the world may see him as such! We exist, as 1 Peter 2:9-10 clearly states, to make known in all our lives, in our speech and works and jobs and families, we exist to make known how excellent he truly is.
Saving faith is more than mere intellectual agreement with doctrines. When I talk about believing in Jesus and trusting Jesus and having a personal relationship with Jesus, I’m talking about our having a new heart and a new nature that cherishes him and desires him and adores him as precious above all else. Do you prize Jesus as the treasure of the universe? Is he worth more to you than everything else in the world? Are you willing to sacrifice everything to know him and to make him known?
Paul gave us a living example of this in Philippians 3:7ff. He says: “Whatever gain I had, I counted loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I might gain Christ.”
Do you prize and treasure Jesus as sufficiently precious to your heart that you could say the same thing?
Already Not Yet 