YOUR WORTH

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

It was picture day at school, and a little boy was getting dressed for this special occasion. He agonized over what would be the appropriate attire, not necessarily for the picture, but to match the attire of others. He didn’t want to be too dressed up. At the same time, he did not want to be underdressed.  He went over all the options with his parent, finally deciding that a t-shirt, under a dressy shirt, would work. If he got to school and his friends were casual, he could pull off the outer shirt, and be just like them.

Another little boy, many years ago, on picture day, told his mother, “I want to wear my suit and tie to school today.” He did not care what his friends were wearing. He wanted to look sharp. So out the door to school he went that day, looking like a little man, not caring what others would say.

Where do we fall in these two different stories? I think many of us would say that at times we put much thought into how we present ourselves to the world. We base our worth on the opinions of others. We do not want to stick out. We want to fit nicely in the crayon box matching all the other colors. On the other hand, some purposely like to look and act different, because they actually feel their worth is in being different.

Where exactly do we find our true worth? In Genesis we are told that we were created in the image of God. In Isaiah we are told that God will never forget us. In Jeremiah, God lets us know that He has an everlasting love towards us, with thoughts of peace, and a plan for hope. In Romans we are told that the fulfillment of His plan for hope in us, was the sacrifice of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. We are also told that through that sacrifice we have been redeemed to Himself. We are told in the book of John, that we become one with God, through Jesus.

When we are in doubt of our worth, all we have to do is open the Bible. From the beginning to the end, we will find the love of God towards us in His perfect plan. To Him, we are more precious than silver or gold. We were the price of His own blood.  If we compare our worth to the standards of others, our measuring device is flawed. Do we really want to look like others, or do we want to look like Christ? When we look through the eyes of God, we are His beloved children. If we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, we have great worth; we are priceless!

Dear Father God, Thank you for knitting us perfectly together in our mother’s womb. Thank you for giving us worth, through Jesus Christ. Amen