Encouragement for Today

March 26, 2025 Jesus Had a Choice STACY J. LOWE Lee en español

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2b (NIV)

What is the value of a soul?

Well, what is the value of anything? What gives something its worth?

Some years back, on a thrifting adventure, I came across a beautiful purse costing me just a few dollars. Satisfied with my purchase, I brought it home and transferred my things over to this new-to-me purse.

Noticing how well-made it was, I became curious one day and searched for the brand name online. That’s when I realized I hadn’t just bought a purse. I had bought a designer purse — at an incredibly cheap price.

Discovering this, you might think I began to treat it with extreme care, but I didn’t. Though I appreciated the quality, I treated it no differently than any other purse I’d ever owned. You see, the worth of something is found in how much you’re willing to give up to get it. In this case, I had paid almost nothing.

So what about us?

Scripture is clear that we, too, were bought at a price — a fathomless cost, the very life of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:20). But there’s more to consider here. The night He was arrested, Jesus, being both fully man and fully God, made clear to His disciples that He could summon legions of angels at any time to come to His rescue (Matthew 26:53). Yet He did not. This shows us Jesus had a choice.

Think about that for a moment. Jesus had a choice, and He chose us.

He knew what was to come — the pain, the sorrow, the betrayal of friends — and the burden was heavy. So heavy that while He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, His sweat became like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Yet He still boldly stated to His Father, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42b, ESV).

Why would He do this? The author of the book of Hebrews tells us:

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2b).

Jesus looked beyond the pain of the moment and saw joy — our rescue from sin and restored relationship with God, all made available through what He was about to do. He thought about you and me and said “yes” to it all.

That depth of love is the measure of our worth. And though this may seem the most basic tenet of our faith, sometimes the simplest of truths are the most profound of all, truths we need reminding of most often when we’re tempted to believe otherwise.

Jesus loves us.
Jesus chose us.
Jesus gave us worth by laying down His very life for us.

I’m so thankful that given the choice, Jesus said “yes” to us.

Father, sometimes in the chaos of life, we forget the most basic of truths — that we are deeply loved. Help us to rest in that truth today. Thank You for choosing us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Listen to the latest episode of The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast to hear from Lysa TerKeurst as she teaches a five-step framework for navigating a hard conversation. Tune in now!

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (NLT).

1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (NLT).

No matter how good we think we are, nothing we do could ever be enough to deem us worthy of God’s love. Yet we are valuable to Him — simply because He chose to make us so. Considering all He’s done to reconcile us with Himself, is it any wonder He cares so deeply for us? Spend some time today reflecting on His care for you and thanking Him for His love.

What does it mean to you that given the choice, Jesus gave up His life for you? How does that change the way you view your relationship with Him? We’d love for you to share about it in the comments.

© 2025 by Stacy J. Lowe. All rights reserved.