I sat in a Church pew wondering why anyone would do anything for me. My self image was at its lowest and I could see nothing good in me. I was wrestling with the idea that God would put forth the effort to save someone like me. Why would He want someone like me? I finally began to see that it wasn’t because of anything that I did that made God love me and my sin did not keep Him away. He moved towards me because there is an innate value created in me. We are so valuable to God, even in the muck of our lowest point, that he would step down from heaven to save us.
This concept became concrete for me when I had kids. I understood that God valued me in my brain, but I kept it at arms length because I never really believed my actions would not affect God’s evaluation of me. I held onto the idea that I must be perfect before God would accept me. Then I had my first kid…actually it was before then. I saw the heartbeat of my kid in the first trimester and I realized instantaneously that this child held limitless potential and that there was nothing that could take my love away from it (I did not know it was a boy at that time).
Unfortunately, I did not get to meet my baby boy. We miscarried in the 13th week. It was devastating. I could see all of that potential seemingly going down the drain. It was lost forever. Then one day, as I was on a walk getting some fresh air, I had a moment of clarity. I felt like my Baby Boy was watching over me, praying for me. It felt odd, because I’m the dad and should be praying for him. It began to unfold in my mind how, in only 13 weeks of life, had impacted so many people for the better. He had taught me how to love in a way I did not think I was capable of. He helped me grow my faith. He changed my life forever. All in 13 weeks.
That is the value that all of us have. We are all created with immeasurable value and capable of huge impacts on the world. We might not see them, or we might think them small, but there is nothing small about helping a soul find faith. I encourage you to wrestle with your current self image. Do you see how valuable you are? Do you grasp the infinite possibilities? All of this was created in you and has been there since birth. It cannot be taken away from you. It is worth the effort to seek it out and bring it to full fruition.
Do we acknowledge the value that is created in us and every single person? Discussing this regularly helps keep us focused on the image of God that is created in every person. It keeps in front of mind that every person has immense potential, no matter the size, shape, or color.
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