Christmas is only a few days away. The excitement of children and the economic boon to many merchants is at an all-time high. Our street here in Edmond, Oklahoma, is flooded with countless lights of numerous colors. Everyone is, in one way or another, filled with expectation. But are we filled with a deep and abiding affection for Jesus? Are we focused on the one whom Peter says is “chosen and precious” in the sight of God (1 Peter 2:4). So I ask myself, as I now ask you, with Christmas soon here: Is Jesus Christ precious in your sight? Keep reading...

Christmas is only a few days away. The excitement of children and the economic boon to many merchants is at an all-time high. Our street here in Edmond, Oklahoma, is flooded with countless lights of numerous colors. Everyone is, in one way or another, filled with expectation. But are we filled with a deep and abiding affection for Jesus? Are we focused on the one whom Peter says is “chosen and precious” in the sight of God (1 Peter 2:4). So I ask myself, as I now ask you, with Christmas soon here: Is Jesus Christ precious in your sight?

Think with me about what Peter is saying: Jesus Christ, a living stone rejected by men, 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.

Think about it: 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 the testimony of the Apostle Peter, 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, God’s temple, 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 declares, to make known in all our lives, in our speech and works and jobs and families how precious he truly is. We exist to spread a joyful knowledge of the surpassing excellency of our Savior.

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 truth: “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” (Phil. 3:7ff.). May this be a living, life-changing reality in us all this Christmas . . . and every day thereafter.