Made With Love

This morning, I am reflecting on the incredible truth that God, the giver of all good things, has made each and every one of us unique. Some of us are tall and dark-haired; some of us are short and fair-haired. Some of us have brown eyes and some of us have green eyes. Some of us like to draw and others of us like to write. Some of us can remember conversations and experiences from many years past while others of us can memorize an absurd number of facts that they have no emotional connection to whatsoever. And in all of these human characteristics, God gives in a startling range of quality and quantity. The implication is that, from a human standpoint, some people have a lot more going for them. Some people seem to have more gifts, and can do more things better.

As we become aware of this-- whether we perceive ourselves to be one of the more talented or less talented people-- our initial reaction is defensiveness. We enter into an endless game of comparison and competition. We try to edit our outward appearance to fit what we think is “better.” We set impossible New Year’s resolutions in attempts to disguise ourselves as the better-looking, more successful people. We avoid situations that will reveal our vulnerabilities, insecurities, and imperfections. We become envious and bitter towards the people who embody the model person we always wanted to be.

But all comparisons cease when we realize that as much as we want to control our lives, we are completely out of control. As much as we may listen to our culture’s undercurrent message of “You deserve to feel good about yourself,” “your destiny is in your hands,” and “new year, new you,” the reality is that all of these words are lies. We don’t deserve anything. We can’t control our destinies. We are not a new person in the new year; we are that same dependent, sucking child we were the day God brought us into being. We still need our Abba Father for our bread for the day and breath for the moment. Without Him, we are nobody.

But praise Him that we are NOT nobody. That He made us a somebody. Somebody known perfectly yet loved dearly! What does this mean for us? This means that we can be ourselves. That we can stop comparing ourselves to other dependent children and praise God for the child He made us. Then, we can stop looking at ourselves altogether, and in humility, give our lives as a living sacrifice to God. We can live for the glory of God and enjoy the gifts He has given us without feeling like we have to defend their value. We can set achievable goals for ourselves in the new year, knowing that God is the one who empowers us to meet them and not ourselves. And we can enjoy our lives and stop focusing so much on ourselves; we can embrace true humility. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

Lord Jesus, today I praise You that before the foundation of the world, I was on Your mind, and then at the designated time, “you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14a). Today I know that I am secure in Your love and therefore I can live with vitality, without trying to create my value but being secure in the immeasurable value which You have already bestowed upon me. And Lord, when I see You in Your glory, all human qualities suddenly become irrelevant. You are the treasure that is worth selling all that I have to obtain (Matthew 19:21). Teach me to seek after You before seeking after the approval of man, and with the psalmist to declare that “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10). I ask all of this in the Name of the one who is the Source of all Good. Amen.