A Lesson from a Baseball Card

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV). While I was in North Carolina some years ago I saw an item on the news that a rare Honus Wagner baseball card was for sale at auction. That story caused me to do a little research. The story that emerged is hard to believe, but it's true. The owner went into antique stores because he was interested in old baseball cards. In one store he didn't see any on display, so he asked the owner if he had any baseball cards. The shopkeeper produced a cigar box with some very early baseball cards, which dated back to the early 1900s. He said, "I don't put these out for everyone to see. I keep them in a drawer most of the time." Among those cards, the shopper found one of the most valuable baseball cards there is. It was a rare card featuring Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. When the shopper inquired about the price, the owner said, "Well, I bought all of these from a woman for $20.00. But I know they're worth a lot more. I'll sell them to you for $200.00." Of course he bought them all. Just that one card alone is worth an estimated $200,000.00! The woman who sold that card to the storeowner didn't know what it was really worth. The storeowner didn't realize its value either and he let it go for what turned out to be very cheap. It's one thing to undervalue a baseball card and let it go for less than its value. However, it's another thing for a person to undervalue him or herself and let themselves go too cheap. Maybe it's a mistake you've been making. You don't understand how much you're worth and you've been making hurtful choices because of it. It could well be that some people in your life have treated you like you're not worth much and you've believed it. Maybe you've been told you're not worth much, or you've let your inadequacies and limitations and your failures convince you that you must not have much value. What a mistake - and it leads to so many other mistakes. You end up devaluing yourself or settling for less than God intended for you because you think it's all your deserve. That’s not the declaration of Scripture. In our reading this morning Paul says, "We are God's masterpiece." That means you're a unique, handmade original, made by a God who only does masterpieces. All those people who treated you like you don't matter have no idea who you really are! No one on earth gave you your worth and no one on earth can take it away!