I AM Changes i am: Treasured Possession

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.  The Lord has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession (emphasis mine).

Deuteronomy 7:6

 (He) gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own (emphasis mine), eager to do what is good.

Titus 2:14

 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (emphasis mine), that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 

1 Peter 2:9

     
     What do you own that you treasure?  I possess a lot of things that I highly value.  They don’t cost a lot money-wise, but because they hold a lot of memories, they are treasured:  pictures from my past (especially of my children), artifacts we brought home from Kenya, gifts given to us by special people, books that brought a life-changing message, a box of old recipes that belonged to my mom (in her hand-writing), poetry written by my dad...these are the treasures of my world.  Pieces of nostalgia.  I couldn’t part with these things for any price.  What do you treasure?  I’d love to sit and compare notes.

     I also love to look for treasures.  The bargain variety.  I especially like the treasures of the past.  On any given weekend, you might find me at The Brass Armadillo treasure hunting.  Some people obsess over treasure hunting.  I can’t say I obsess; it’s more like a hobby.  It was more the previous for Robert Ballard.  At age 25, he began a search for the sunken Titanic.  Those who knew him said this quest became the sole force that drove his every day.  He lived, ate, breathed, and slept Titanic information.  Finally at age 42, his mission came to a close when he finally achieved his goal.

     The Hebrew word for treasured means the same thing to the Lord as it does to us.  It signifies a private possession one has personally acquired and carefully preserved.  So, what does this mean to you and me that we are “treasured possessions?”  The Word is clear that the Lord considers us his treasure.  Indeed, we became the obsession that drove the Lord Jesus Christ from his heavenly home, where he lived in close connection with his Father.  You and I were his motivation to limit himself to a human body, then to suffer physical and emotional pain, and ultimately death, in order that we could be freed from the depths of our sin.  Jesus "lived, ate, breathed, and slept" the desire to have us as his treasured possession.

     Here’s where the analogy with Ballard breaks down.  While Ballard was credited with the discovery of Titanic, he never could possess, or “free,” the very thing he sought.  When the Lord pursued us and found us in our lostness, he longed to possess us.  This is good news!  In our society to be possessed by another has some negative connotation.  No man desires to be owned by another.  We see that as slavery.  Not so in God’s economy.  It is not slavery, but freedom.  Freedom to work, and move, and live abundantly.  His possession of us simply speaks to the greatness of our value; we were bought at a price when he found us...an extremely high price.  He would not give us away for anything!  We.Are.His.  Say it, "I.Am.His."  Being his possession is very personal.