I don't have cable or satellite television, so I have to go on vacation to watch cool shows like Pawnstars or American Pickers. But sometimes when I am at home and the kids are not pleading for some animated flick, I catch an episode of Antiques Roadshow. The episode I saw a few weeks ago must have been a special one, because all of the items shown featured the appraiser saying, "this is the nicest one of these that I have ever seen." I remember one item in particular. The guy lived in Texas and brought in a pair of matching black pottery bowls. The appraiser oohed and aahed over their condition, quality, and the really cool glazing technique used. It seems that they were made by Native Americans living in southwest area of the United States. The owner mentioned that he hoped to one day hand them down to his girls- one bowl for each of them. The appraiser said that their real value came from their being a matched set- something he had never seen. Their value as a set? $45,000! The owner was blown away.
Then came the real kicker. The appraiser asked the man where he kept this treasure. "Oh, sitting on top of the china cabinet. We thought they looked nice there."
I am guessing he no longer keeps the bowls sitting out on top of a cabinet. Having learned their true value, they are no longer mere decorations.
I think we do the same thing with the most valuable, irreplaceable items in our lives. We place our kids on the top shelf while we build our careers. We let our friends sit on shelves, and then give our real attention to our favorite friends on television. Sadly, we also let Jesus decorate our lives. If we only could realize his inestimable value . . .
I used to sing a song about this:
Lord You are more precious than silver
Lord You are more costly than gold
Lord You are more beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire compares to you.
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