One in a Million?
I don’t know why I bother to write. With the internet now, everyone seems to think they’re an author. The plethora of blogs, forums, and articles form an endless sea of things to read and comment on.
It’s become like the greeting card industry – why write it yourself when there are so many pre-written cards that say it better? I’m sure that for whatever I want to write I could just as easily fish around online for awhile and find someone else’s well-written essay on the topic to post a link to instead.
But it’s not just writing that’s come into thick “competition” these days. Now, your very face must compete for the attention of your hundreds of Facebook “friends” who are also vying for the attention of their hundreds or thousands of friends. “I wonder how many people saw my post?” “Why do their pictures always get so many more ‘likes’ than mine?” “Oh, now this is something I bet people will respond to!”…
Our pond has grown. You are just one fish among an increasing number of many. Who really cares? It’s hard to feel significant or needed when there seem to be a thousand others with just as much and more to offer.
And sometimes, to be honest, it’s easy to transfer some of these feelings into my perceived importance to God. “How can He really care that much about me when there are almost 7 billion other people in this world that He supposedly loves just as much?” “I’m sure God could find someone else that could do this better.”
We’ve probably heard since grade school that “Jesus would have come to die even if it was only for you.” But do we really believe that?
I must admit that it’s difficult for me to fully conceive. I just can’t measure up to a Daniel or a Joseph or a Moses… Not even a Peter! But somehow, miraculously, I’m told that I’m of highest importance to God. In Isaiah 43:3-4 God says, “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I gave Egypt for your ransom,Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight…”
Again I find, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.“ (Matthew 10:29-31)
Even regarding our tiny, atrociously messed-up planet we find: “This world is but an atom in the vast dominion which God presides, yet this little fallen world – the one lost sheep – is more precious in His sight than the ninety and nine that went not astray from the fold…. God gave Himself in His Son that He might have the joy of receiving back the sheep that was lost” (Christ’s Object Lessons p. 190).
Wow. Did you catch that? Jesus did it for the “joy” of receiving us back. He knows our very hairs. You are precious. Yes, I always knew that God loved me. But this means more than that. God not only loves you, He LIKES you. And no, I don’t mean a Facebook “like.” He enjoys you. Somehow God, who can create anything and everything with a simple word, cannot enjoy the universe quite as much without you. Nothing can compete. Nothing can replace.
Yes, there is one thing in life that we don’t have to compete for: the love of God. So while I’m sure it’s been said before, and I’m sure someone else could have written this better and already has, I can’t help but chip my little piece into the pot. God loves me. He loves you. And it’s a message worth sharing.
It’s become like the greeting card industry – why write it yourself when there are so many pre-written cards that say it better? I’m sure that for whatever I want to write I could just as easily fish around online for awhile and find someone else’s well-written essay on the topic to post a link to instead.
But it’s not just writing that’s come into thick “competition” these days. Now, your very face must compete for the attention of your hundreds of Facebook “friends” who are also vying for the attention of their hundreds or thousands of friends. “I wonder how many people saw my post?” “Why do their pictures always get so many more ‘likes’ than mine?” “Oh, now this is something I bet people will respond to!”…
Our pond has grown. You are just one fish among an increasing number of many. Who really cares? It’s hard to feel significant or needed when there seem to be a thousand others with just as much and more to offer.
And sometimes, to be honest, it’s easy to transfer some of these feelings into my perceived importance to God. “How can He really care that much about me when there are almost 7 billion other people in this world that He supposedly loves just as much?” “I’m sure God could find someone else that could do this better.”
We’ve probably heard since grade school that “Jesus would have come to die even if it was only for you.” But do we really believe that?
I must admit that it’s difficult for me to fully conceive. I just can’t measure up to a Daniel or a Joseph or a Moses… Not even a Peter! But somehow, miraculously, I’m told that I’m of highest importance to God. In Isaiah 43:3-4 God says, “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I gave Egypt for your ransom,Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight…”
Again I find, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.“ (Matthew 10:29-31)
Even regarding our tiny, atrociously messed-up planet we find: “This world is but an atom in the vast dominion which God presides, yet this little fallen world – the one lost sheep – is more precious in His sight than the ninety and nine that went not astray from the fold…. God gave Himself in His Son that He might have the joy of receiving back the sheep that was lost” (Christ’s Object Lessons p. 190).
Wow. Did you catch that? Jesus did it for the “joy” of receiving us back. He knows our very hairs. You are precious. Yes, I always knew that God loved me. But this means more than that. God not only loves you, He LIKES you. And no, I don’t mean a Facebook “like.” He enjoys you. Somehow God, who can create anything and everything with a simple word, cannot enjoy the universe quite as much without you. Nothing can compete. Nothing can replace.
Yes, there is one thing in life that we don’t have to compete for: the love of God. So while I’m sure it’s been said before, and I’m sure someone else could have written this better and already has, I can’t help but chip my little piece into the pot. God loves me. He loves you. And it’s a message worth sharing.
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