Thursday Devotional - What am I?

People were created with the need for relationships with others. We long to belong to a family, group, and community. 

The twins have figured out many of the family connections in my family, since I live near my parents and one of my sisters. One of the twins even figured out that the “Panikkars” refers to everyone in my sister’s family (aunt Jane, uncle Sean, and cousins Maria and Mark). I said “Yes, and we’re Reas!” Then, she asked: “What am I?” I told her she and her brother would be Reas just like Joe, James, Sarah and me, once we adopted them.

In Genesis 1, God created everything. What I noticed this time studying Genesis is that God said “Let there be…” or “Let the…” when He created things days 1-5, but on the 6^th day, God said “Let us make!”

Genesis 1:26-28       ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

We were created unique from all the rest of creation! Each person was created in the image of God! We have special value and worth to God!

What am I? I’m a Rea, but most importantly I’m God’s!

I pray you feel your value and worth to God!

Alice

Know Your Value

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.  He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.  James 1:16-18

This life we are given is so precious.  I think about my life.  There are moments of happiness and where things have gone well.  There are other moments of sadness and grief.  There are achievements and disappointments and successes and failures.  It is fair to say that life is indeed a roller coaster.  However, God has been a constant through all of it.  But if He is truly in control, why are there so many ups and downs?  Can’t there just be a level of consistency that one might consider ‘normal?’

The answer to that question is emphatically ‘no!’  The good times are those where we are enjoying God’s blessing.  The bad times are when God is shaping us for His will to be done.  You see when we take life as a gift, all that comes with it is of value. When my teenage daughter is pushing every button to get a rise out of me or my wife is asking the same question for the third time, somehow, I find joy because I love them so much.  It does not mean it is not a temporary source of irritation.  It means that there is a bigger picture to focus on, and if I am not careful, one can let the moment overwhelm the reality.  Jesus talks about this when He refers to storing our riches in Heaven (see Matthew 6:20-21).  We can easily get caught up into those things that are worldly and focus on those things as what we value.  However, God does not value our possessions.  He values us, and no matter how we may resist, defy, or challenge Him, we are still valued to Him.

We are God’s most prized possession.  Last week, I spoke of the prodigal son realizing he was lost as part of his (and our) journey of faith.  Today, we are to realize who we are to God, and as such, we must value all that He values.  One of the reasons Jesus said part of the Greatest Commandment is we are to love our neighbors as … ourselves is to acknowledge how valued we are to Him.  Our self-worth is not based on our sense of indulgence or vanity.  Instead, it is the worth God places on us.  Not some parts of us.  Not most of us.  All of us.  As such, we are to value God above all as Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”  This require our taking God’s word to heart.  This is where the real struggle often occurs.  Our goal is to have a willingness to engage the struggle within prayerfully.  It is a struggle because we will often not agree with what the word says, but if we are willing to acknowledge the greater value of a closer relationship with God, we agree it is worth it.

You are worth so much to God!  So much so that even as we do not meet God’s standard, he sent His son Jesus Christ to fix it.  In prophesying the coming of Jesus, Zechariah said:

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has visited and redeemed his people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
    from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago. Luke 1:68-70

We are redeemed from sin because He loves us so.  Let us work to return the favor by loving Him and others as His most prized possessions.  What reassurance do you have knowing your worth to God?  How can you instill a sense of God’s value in others?  My prayer is that we know our value to God.  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Of Little Importance?

Which part of your body would you say is the most important? Which would you say is the least? Have you ever hurt a “minor” part of your body only to realize how much you take it for granted when it works properly?

I was playing tickle monster with the kids two weeks ago and I stubbed my baby toe (or “foot piggy,” as Sarah calls it) while I was running through the house. It ended up being more than a stubbed toe. I either sprained or broke it and the pain has persisted. I’ve been wearing flops most of the time, as it’s most comfortable. Now I realize how important even my baby toe is!

Similarly, we can take for granted other members of the body of Christ (other believers).  

Romans 12:3-5       For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Who do you and I look down on, thinking our talents, gifts and abilities are better? 

Or why do you and I compare our responsibilities to those of others? 

Where do you and I need to value the different gifts of others in our family and local churches?

Paul says we aren’t to think more highly (or lowly) of ourselves as we have different functions but form one body in Christ. 

We’re all needed and of great importance!

Alice