But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…” Ephesians 2:4
We love and admire some people because inherently they are worthy, at least in the eyes of others. Take the supermodels who have their legs insured for an exorbitant amount of money; and the famous athletes whose endorsements bring in millions for the advertised product. These are examples of things that are loved and admired because they are worthy.
In our family we have a child who has a Thomas the Tank Engine — it is about 5 inches long, made of wood, painted blue and has magnets on either side of it to cart the matching coal truck. The wood is chipped now, the face not quite as defined as it once was; and the track on which it is meant to run is long gone, chewed by one of the dogs. Even Thomas has a couple of teeth marks, whether from the dog or the kid is impossible to tell, and really doesn’t matter.
Thomas is a constant companion to our child — he sleeps with him, eats with him, has tried to sneak him into the bath-tub with him (and the swimming pool) and we dare not leave the house without Thomas! Once Thomas went missing, and our child went ballistic, I honestly thought the neighbors would call Social Services on us the screams were that loud! Thomas was eventually located, lurking under the couch. To us, Thomas is nothing more than a wooden train, but to our child he is everything.
In the same way, God’s love to us is not based on our intrinsic worth. That love comes to us by grace, a priceless free gift bestowed on even the most unlovable object. We are worthy because we are loved. In the words of St. Augustine, “By loving the unlovable, You made me lovable.”
During your prayer time spend some time listening to the Voice that has made you worthy. For some of us that may sound self-indulgent, but not if it means seeing yourself as the Beloved, a person in whom God has chosen to dwell. The more you listen to the Voice that affirms who you are in Him, the less likely you are to judge your worth by how others respond to you, or who measure you by your achievements.
Put yourself in the place of being worthy, because you are loved by the best, the most pure and the most perfect lover in the entire world!
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
Read more articles by Corinne Smelker or search for articles on the same topic or others.
I am reading your articles backwards and hope to have time to finish them all. Your words speak to my spirit which at once both rejoices and weeps. Do you have any books I can buy and give to all my friends? If not, you should.
