Josh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample

THE MOST VALUABLE THING. Imagine that your house is on fire and everyone in your family (pets included) has made it to safety. Next, imagine that an angel tells you that you may return to the house for one thing-one thing only, rescue it from the fire, and return to safety with it. What would you choose? Would it be your piggy bank? your CD player? Maybe a favorite stuffed animal? a keepsake that a friend or family member gave you, something that has a lot of sentimental value? a photo? a family heirloom? What would it be? Make sure you've chosen before you continue reading. Have you decided? OK, keep reading. Why did you choose that object? There can only be one reason: It is the most valuable thing you possess. It may not be the most expensive thing you own. It may not even be worth anything to someone else. But the fact that you would save that possession instead of anything else reveals that to you-for whatever reason it is the most valuable thing you own. Now, guess what? If God were faced with the same choice, you know what he would choose? You. In fact, he already has. Ever since the day sin came into the world, everything God created in the universe has been marked for destruction. The rest of the heavens and earth will be destroyed and replaced with a new, improved version. But God sent his Son to save the most valuable part of his creation-you. He had to suffer and die to pull it off, but he did it. And do you know why he did it? Because he loves you. He loved you enough to choose you and to suffer for you and to die for you. "Dear friends," his Word says, "since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11, NIV). God showed how much he loved you-and how much he values love when he "sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9, NIV). REFLECT: Can you tell what God values by what he says? Can you tell what God values by what he does? Can you tell what God values by what he saves? If so, how? How did God show how much he loves you? Since God loved you so much, how should you feel about yourself? Since God loved you so much, what should you value? Since God loved you so much, what should you do? ACT: Keep the item you identified as your most valued possession on your desk or bedside table to remind you how God feels about you, how God feels about love, and how you should act toward others. PRAY: "Thank you, God, that you value me. I want to show that I value love by... [loving others; showing love to my family, etc.]."