The Priceless Coin

I love history, and a number of years ago I bought a framed coin at a garage sale. It has a certificate of authenticity and the history of the coin.

I didn’t care much for the frame the coin came in, so I reframed it and now it has been hanging up on my wall.

The other night I was looking at it, and wondered how much it might be worth. When I searched it, coins started to come up and I saw one that had sold recently for 3 million dollars! I thought what?!? I dug a little deeper and found that even coins in poor condition were selling for $18,000!

What?!? I have a thousand dollar coin hanging on my wall?!?

Well the more I thought about my diamond in the rough the more I had to consider it was probably a fake; for there are many replica coins out there and forged certificates of authenticity.

I was a bit disappointed to think I had a lie hanging up on my wall and I decided to email a local coin deal to find out the truth. I told him what I had and he agreed with me that it was probably a fake, but he wanted to see some pictures.

I pulled the coin out of the frame and realized the pictures on the coin were different than the ones I had seen online. I sent off the pictures and then did another round of research to discover I didn’t have a million dollar coin, but a different coin.

The next morning the man replied to my pictures and kindly told me what my coin actually is and how much it’s worth.

The price I paid for it at the garage sale was about right and I must say I was tickled with delight!

Now it would be pretty neat to find you have a $18,000 coin! But I told my family yesterday, I’d rather have a real coin that’s not worth much, than a million dollar replica that’s worth nothing.

This coin experience got me to thinking. How often in our lives do we look around at what we think are the million dollars coins and try and be like them. And I’m not talking about Hollywood movie stars I’m talking about us, how often do we look around at other Christians and think we should be more like them. We compare ourselves and try and change.

When I was a young adult I had the image of the ideal Christian woman in my head. She was nice, soft spoken, gentle, a true hostess, who loved the Lord in such a graceful way. She was tender and loving toward all.

I tried to be like that, but I felt like an elephant trying to dance ballet! I just didn't fit the mold. I remember being at a Bible study where we all took one of those Spiritual gifts tests. As we went around the room all the girls seemed to say similar gifts: Hospitality, Service, Giving…
Then it came to me… I was the only girl to not have any of those as my top 3!

I’m glad there are girls like my ideal, because we need them in the Body of Christ! They are wonderful! But I’m glad the Lord has shown me that I can just be me, because we need me in the Body of Christ too!

I had my idea of a “Million Dollar Coin”, the kind of coin I wanted to be. But now I can say wholeheartedly, I’d rather be real and not worth much in the worlds eyes, than a million dollar replica worth nothing, because in the eyes of my Father I am priceless. He made me just the way He wanted me.

So whether the world says you’re worth 3 million dollars or 20 cents, know this, the Lord who created you thinks you’re priceless. We don’t need your “ideal” in the Body of Christ, we need your reale!

My coin is a reale, reale meaning: real, genuine, but it also means Royal. We are royal coins of the King of kings!
My coin isn't worth much, but it's the kind of coin I want to be. Used! It's traveled all over the world, been chopped, rubbed smooth, and spent over and over again. Someone may pay 3 million dollars to own one of those other coins, but how much has my one coin bought over all these years?