One day an antique connoisseur walked into one of these
stores. Browsing the items for sale, he came across an unremarkable cat Drinking
milk from a saucer on the floor. The man immediately recognized this saucer as
genuine Ming Dynasty, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And here it was
on the floor, with a cat drinking milk out of it! The shop owner obviously did
not know its worth.
Immediately, the man started scheming how to get it for
cheap, without the shopkeeper knowing what he was selling. He turned to the shopkeeper
and said, "You know, that's a very striking cat you have there. I'd really
like to buy your cat."
"Well," answered the shopkeeper, "the cat is
not really for sale."
"I insist," the man replied. "Would you take
$100 for the cat?"
"That's very generous," said the shopkeeper with a
shake of his head.
"I don't think this cat is worth $100, but if you want
the cat that badly, you can have it."
The man paid for the cat and then, as if he'd just thought
of it, said, "Oh, one more thing. I'm going to need something to use as a
feeding dish for the cat, so I'll give you another $5 for that little saucer there
on the floor."
"Oh, I could never do that," said the shopkeeper.
"You see, that's no ordinary saucer. That's a piece of rare china from the
Ming Dynasty and its worth is incalculable. But amazingly enough, ever since I
started feeding my cats out of it, I've sold 12 cats."
That shopkeeper degraded something of great value to upgrade
the worth of his cats. God also used something of great value to redeem us and
to give us life--Christ, who was degraded on the cross so that we could be upgraded
to eternal life. As a result, we have become priceless treasures.
On the other hand, customers who didn't know any better
walked by the cat's milk dish without realizing that they were walking past a treasure.
Next time you walk past what look like ordinary persons, don't be fooled.
They're treasures--people God loves so much that he sacrificed his Son on their
behalf.
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