What is your worth? There is an e-mail that goes around called The one Flaw in Women, which extols the virtues of women, and at the end says that the one flaw in women is that they forget their worth. Many of us live our lives for others every day, giving our all to those around us. We support one another, bear one another's burdens, share our hope, love and joy, and laugh and cry with our friends, even when we are sad or hurting inside. Is this what brings us value? Perhaps that is what brings us worth in some people's eyes.
But, then what is our worth when we fail at these things? Sometimes we may feel totally unworthy because of something we have or have not done or said. There may be people we have hurt or neglected, even if it was unintentional. Some days we might be too absorbed in our own lives to share our gifts or talents with others around us. Maybe we didn't reach out to someone in need for various reasons, even though we had the means to do so and saw their need. Or perhaps we simply didn't stand up for what was right in a certain situation. Does that make us unworthy people?
What brings us worth in other people's eyes may be whether we "do good things" - but what is it that brings us worth in God's eyes? First, He creates us with some intrinsic value. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14). Then He redeems us again and again when we falter. God sees us through his one and only son, Jesus, who died on the cross to save us from our unworthiness/sinfulness. Thankfully, God is endlessly all-forgiving, because of what Jesus has done for us, not because of our own efforts! Because He forgives all of our short-comings, no matter how often they appear, we can start anew with a clean slate, each and every moment of every day as we turn to Him in faith. When we "do good things" in this world then, it is not what brings us worth in God's mind, but rather it is what we do to thank Him for the free gift of forgiveness and salvation already given to us by Him. It is our witness to the world of the love of our wonderful Lord and Savior.
So, what is your worth? When we are noble/faithful we are worth far more than rubies! "A [woman] of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." (Proverbs 31:10) And as we witness to others about our faith in Christ, we do not have to be afraid, because we are worth more than the many sparrows of the earth. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31)
So what is our worthiness based on? We are worthy because God made us and we remain faithful - and that is ALL! An affirmation to remember:
I am a worthy creation of God, and I am continually redeemed and made worthy again through faith in Christ!
Written by Jan Andersen, worthy child of God
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