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God’s great idea
by Jon Walker
«My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.» (Psalm 139:15-16 NIV)
God spoke my son, Jeremy, into my wife’s womb, just as God spoke you into your mother’s womb. Jeremy was «fearfully and wonderfully made,» and God ordained his days, just as he’s ordained yours. (Psalm 139:14,16 NIV)
Jeremy was one of God’s great ideas. Like you, Jeremy was an expression of God’s blue-ribbon brilliance, He was a Matisse-like masterpiece, lovingly, deliberately, and carefully created by the One True God, the creative Creator of the universe.
My son, Jeremy, died at birth because of a destructive DNA disorder called Trisomy 18, but that didn’t diminish the value of his life, his legacy, or his significance to God. Jeremy’s every chromosome fit intricately – and for now, unexplainably to us – into God’s flawless planning.
If you grasp this – «how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge» (Ephesians 3:18-19a NIV) – then you’re on your way to understanding the extraordinary value of every human life, how each individual is a masterpiece created by God.
You, too, are a masterpiece created by God.
Oswald Chambers wrote, «Individual lives are the expression of a pre-existing idea in the mind of God.» In other words, every human being is a unique, one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated expression of God’s incredible creativity, and as a Christian you become a unique reflection of Jesus Christ as he works through you to serve others.
The point is, God thought you up (Jeremiah 1:5), and now he lovingly thinks of you.
You are of immeasurable worth to God, and your value is not determined by your appearance or performance, or how much time or money you can contribute, or how well you sing or teach – or how long you live. The value of any container is determined by its contents, and you are a one and only, custom-made container of Uncommon Stuff – as a believer, you contain the very life of God.
Rejoice in this truth, and be set free.
So what?
· God’s love transforms – When you understand your value to God, you will be less likely to sin. His love will compel you to walk in the light. If you deeply and truly understood how much God loved you, how would your behavior change?
· We devalue others – When we think in such terms as «You’re valuable to me as long as you’re useful» or «You’re valuable to me as long as I enjoy your company.» This reduces people to mere tools or objects of pleasure.
· God’s masterpiece is on the couch – If you are God’s masterpiece, so is the couch potato in your house, or the person at church who you diplomatically describe as «contrary.» (That’s the Southerner in me coming out – ha!)
© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
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