Above all

The very next time you question your worth or value on this earth, or to anyone for that matter, consider Psalm 8.  It will put a whole different framework to your thinking!  God didn't look down upon "humankind" as insignificant or of "little worth".  Instead, he created all things, placing "humankind" in a place higher than any other created thing.  It never implies throughout scripture that any one man or woman is at a "higher level" than the other - all are of equal worth simply because that is exactly how God made each and every one of us!

When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—on the moon, stars, and all You have made, I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—sons and daughters of men—specks of dust floating about the cosmos. But You placed the son of man just beneath God and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor. You ordained him to govern the works of Your hands, to nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination; You placed everything on earth beneath his feet:  All kinds of domesticated animals, even the wild animals in the fields and forests, the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, all the multitudes of living things that travel the currents of the oceans.  (Psalm 8:3-8 VOICE)

Society has a tendency to judge worth by the "contribution" one makes in this world.  I watched a show the other night about a dad's struggle to accept his "deformed" newborn girl. The child was born with arms shortened, hands resembling fins, legs and feet just barely protruding from the pelvis.  She had a magnificently beautiful face, perfect torso, and a sweet disposition.  The dad's horror was registered at his first glance.  The struggle which ensued was that of a mother's love for her child and the father's love, but broken heart over the "condition" of his child when born with such "gross deformity".  It was as though he thought anything "imperfect" could not be loved.

In the ensuing hour of the program, the struggle became very apparent.  He had two "perfect" children already, but could he ever accept and love this "imperfect" child.  I think there are those who wonder if God ever looked at any one of us and "struggled" to love us because we were "less than perfect".  If that were the case, none of us would be loved by God and this is totally contrary to what scripture teaches!  God loves the "less than perfect" and he embraces each and every "deformed" part of us as though it were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen!

Lest you judge this father too harshly, I think his reaction is based on what society has come to define as "normal" or "worth" valuing.  "Perfect people" rarely exist, though.  They may appear "okay" on the outside (conforming to some standard defining "normal").  Yet, on the inside, all of us is less than perfect.  God still sets us above all other created things and values us above all other created things - no matter how "majestic" or "beautiful" or "awe-inspiring" they may be.  The end of the story for this father - he remembered his intense love for his wife and other children.  He contemplated this new one as "his own" and in very short order, he came to love and embrace this one others may have viewed as "less than perfect".  In essence, he did what God does with each and every one of us!

We may not "feel" or even "act" perfect, but know this - God doesn't love us any less.  Our "worth" isn't established by our "pluses" or "minuses" in this life, but by the very fact his Spirit dwells within each of us!  Just sayin!