God makes it clear in His Word that each of us is so valuable that He sent His Son to die for us. Such a gift is worth our continual thanks and praise.
Eternal Perspectives by Sally Bair
God values you
I have always enjoyed naming animals. By their very personality, the deer that came into my yard nearly named themselves: Queen Mama, Three Sisters, Little Twins, and a tiny, new orphan we called Flower. Like Bambi’s friend the skunk, our Flower sported a black stripe along her back and tail.
When I lived on a farm, we named our cows, too. Bessie, Tessie, Reddy, Blackie, and others. My grandmother lists her favorite animals by name in her early 1900s diaries. And my mother-in-law called her favorite chicken Little Red Hen.
Since God values us even more than animals, He has chosen special names and identities for us. Those of us who truly believe in Him as Savior and Lord are called “… children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him ….” (Romans 8:16) And because of our righteousness in Christ, we’re called saints, according to most of Paul the apostle’s New Testament letters.
We are also called God’s friends. “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants … for all things that I heard from My father I have made known to you.” (John 15:14)
God cares for us so much that He gives us these wonderful names—names we can be honored to call our own. His infinite care for us actually reaches as far back as before our conception. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you …” (Jeremiah 1:5). Such an assurance of His great love causes us to rejoice.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb … My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:13, 15)
“I have set before you today life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days …” (Deut. 30:19-20
Thank You, Lord, for placing such infinite value on us that You called us by name even before birth. Cause us to show such care and love to all who surround us—including the unborn. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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