If it’s true that money can’t buy happiness and it can’t buy what it used to, it can buy you the most expensive car in the world. And what is it? A vintage Ferrari 250 GTO built back in 1963. It’s one of only 39 ever made. For a mere $52 million, it could be yours.

Or maybe you’d prefer some shoes. I know my wife would. How about some ruby slippers designed by Harry Winston? They’re a replica of Dorothy’s slippers from The Wizard of Oz, and they’re encrusted in diamonds. The cost of the most expensive shoe in the world? $1.5 million for the left one, and the same for the right. Or you could buy 120,000 pairs of running shoes with that money. It’s really up to you.

The most expensive hot dog in the world can be purchased at Capital Dawg in Sacramento, California, for a mere $150. I sure hope that comes with curly fries. As for the most expensive soup on the planet? It is available at Kai Mayfair in London, England, for $190 a bowl. I sure hope it’s hot. The value of the soup and hot dog have to do with their ingredients, which include shark fins and a Swedish cheese valued at $200 a pound.

Without Price

So what is a human life worth? Well, it depends on who does the evaluation.

Stanford economist Stefanos Zenios and some of his colleagues calculated the average value of a year of quality human life to be $129,000. But reduced to just the basic chemical components that comprise the human body, we’re worth a paltry $160.

Maybe a better question is, what value does God place on a human life?

I went to jail recently. To speak, not to stay. Afterward a Christian who is serving a 20-year sentence said to me, “The thing I struggle most with is … well … I have no value.”

I smiled and reminded him that our worth is not measured in terms of monetary value but by what our heavenly Father has done for us. Tears came to his eyes because down deep he knew what I was talking about. Through the death of God’s only Son on the cross, the Father paid the price to rescue him from his crimes. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed … but with the precious blood of Christ.”

If the value of an object is determined by the amount paid for it, our value is out of this world. Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And woven throughout the entire story of redemption is this awesome truth: God loved us to death. Today, may our lives reflect our joy and gratitude to the God who paid the ultimate price on the cross for our forgiveness.

We are valued and loved far beyond any Ferrari, any ruby slippers, any shark fin soup. Or Swedish cheese