True value

In 2009 someone cleaned out their attic. Actually, lots of people cleaned out their attics but only one has a thirty million dollar story to tell about the experience.
For one hundred and twenty five years a painting sat in an attic on Long Island, simply collecting dust. When the painting was uncovered and evaluated the truth of its origin became clear. This was no ordinary painting. The art work that had taken residence in the attic was a rare full sized canvas created by Van Gogh called "Sunset at Montmajour" worth nearly thirty million dollars.
The family that housed the lost work of art had no idea that what they had hiding in their attic was a treasured masterpiece painted by one of the greatest artists of all time. In the midst of an ordinary attic, typically the junk depository of a home, contained a fortune in the form of a simple canvas.
The painting, once covered in dust, went from occupying a dark corner of an attic to taking a place of honor on the walls of the famed Van Gogh Museum.
This story makes you want to organize your attic, doesn't it? Who knows what you could find! Maybe a valuable coin, a box of gold jewelry or maybe the pen used by Lincoln to write out his famous Gettysburg Address. Okay, so maybe that is a little far fetched. But a girl can dream about junk in her attic, can't she?
Chances are that in my attic I won't find a long-lost masterpiece or rare Presidential artifact. My odds are more in favor of finding coloring pages completed by my five year old artistic hand. Not exactly the kind of art that brings in a hefty sum at an auction. Oh well, at least it could help with kindling for the next evening fire.
Even if your attic is like mine, that is masterpiece-less, don't lose heart. You are not without hidden treasure. In all of our lives we have something of value that God is just waiting to uncover. We are precious in His sight.
You and I might look at our lives and see an attic filled to the brim with junk. Our past is shameful, our present is ordinary at best and our future doesn't look too bright. In the attic of our life we don't see anything that resembles a Van Gogh.
But God sees past the dust and disorganization of our attics. He sees beauty. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has us anew in Jesus Christ, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
Just because we can't see the masterpiece doesn't mean it isn't there. We may not know the treasure we have hidden within, but God knows. God sees our worth and our beauty. He wants to dust us off, bring us out of the attic and put us on display to bring honor and glory to His name. He created us and restored us in Jesus Christ and He wants to show the world His magnificent creation.
No matter how messy your life might look or how worthless you may feel, remember the value you have in Jesus Christ. You are a beloved masterpiece created in the image of God. He loves you passionately. He longs to bring you out of the shadows of the attic and into the bright, glowing hallways of His light. He will take you, dust and all, to further His kingdom and bring praise to His great name. What could be more valuable than that?