By the Way

How Much Is It Worth?

It is the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen, a mystical structure whose white marble changes colors with the phases of the day. A stunning, soaring monument to both the power of love and the pain of separation, one’s first view of it brings a humbled feeling of awe.

It is the Taj Mahal.

A perfect memorial to undying love

At the death of his favorite wife—Mumtaz Mahal— as she gave birth to her 14th child in 1631, the great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned a magnificent tomb for her. The result was the impressive marble-clad complex of the Taj Mahal, world-famous for its uniquely beautiful architecture. Shah Jahan was eventually buried by her side.

Today it’s best to arrive early, when the site first opens, to beat the subtropical heat and to get ahead of the crowds that come every day. Listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World, the mausoleum draws 6 million visitors a year.

Photo opportunities are endless; every angle seems impossibly beautiful. The best architects of the region and age worked to make a perfect memorial to undying love. It is estimated that it would cost a billion dollars to recreate the Taj Mahal today.

Vastly more than the sum of its parts

There is, however, evidence, sometimes disputed, that in the 1830s the Taj was nearly destroyed, its marble to be sold piecemeal in London! It seems the price the marble would fetch was deemed insufficient, and the effort was abandoned.

Imagine dismantling the Taj Mahal for the mere price of the stone! How foolishly shortsighted that would have been!

The worth of great masterpieces goes infinitely beyond the cost of the raw materials used. A different kind of calculation must be used to judge their value.

Count the cost

This principle is found in the Bible, in the context of the Christian commitment to follow Jesus Christ. In Luke 14 Jesus spoke of how builders and kings have to “count the cost” of their great projects, architectural or military, to make sure they can finish what they start. The lesson is that every follower of Christ must “bear his cross” and “forsake all that he has” in order to be His disciple.

The cost of discipleship may seem high, but the resulting value of a submissive Christian life goes far beyond the worth of the raw human materials devoted to the purpose. God’s great goal is to bring “many sons and daughters to glory” (Hebrews 2:10, New International Version).

Eternity in the glorious family God is now forming— there can be no greater destiny! The price required is a pittance.

How foolish would it be to refuse or neglect to pay that meager cost? Much more foolish than to sell the magnificent Taj Mahal for its marble.

Joel Meeker @JoelMeeker