Esteemed and Valued

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

Although we are weak - we are strong. Even though we are limited in both our understanding and our power - we stand all powerful, able to tap into the greatest wisdom ever. In spite of acting dumb on occasion- we are considered to be of the greatest worth to the God of the Universe. Because God breathed life into man, our value is higher than any living creature or created thing - we have a soul 'innervated' by God's life-giving Spirit. It is the one who made us, keeps us, and 'breathes into us' that actually makes each and every one of us significant in this world. Nothing else we do, say, or believe will ever accomplish what God's presence in our lives is capable of accomplishing.

How do we know God actually values us? If we have been 'devalued' most of our life by others or even ourselves, why should we believe our 'value' in God's eyes is so very great? We only need to look as far as the things he has provided or done for us to see how much God values each of us. He gives us his Word, so we don't need to be unaware of his plans and how much he has included us in those plans. If that wasn't enough, he sent his Holy Spirit into our lives to act as a 'teacher' of that Word, because he knew we would need to be 'educated' in the Word - coming to know its meaning and significance in our lives. We also come to understand our worth when we see the extreme patience of God with us - giving us the time to actually grow in his grace. 

Yes, God disciplines us when we aren't really living up to our potential or moving outside of the protective boundaries he has set for our lives. Why? He values us too much to see us live wayward lives. He is a good parent, desiring only the best for his children, wanting that none should wander off and be overtaken by sin's pull. To that end, he sent his Son to provide the only way for our restoration - sin's atonement (payment in full) being met in him. It is through the finished work of the Cross of Christ that we are made sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Value is best determined by what someone is willing to pay for the item being obtained! 

We don't get our sense of 'value' or 'worth' from others, although we may look for it there on occasion. We won't find it in a career, or accomplishments that gain us accolades and praise. As parents, we won't even find it in the success of our kid's accomplishments. We find it in one person - Christ Jesus. We aren't 'exalted' by our accomplishments - we are 'esteemed' because of HIS. Just sayin!