In God's Eyes, We Have Great Value

And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31

I was in a restaurant recently, waiting in the lobby for a table. To help pass the time, I began to study the many people milling around. For a while, I looked at their noses. I was amazed to see every shape and size imaginable. Then I compared hair color, height, and weight. I was impressed by the great variety I saw. No two people looked exactly the same.

Often our culture decides a certain nose or hair color, or figure is beautiful. I often laugh at myself when I try to have the same haircut as everyone else or the same clothes. I keep forgetting that God loves variety, as the author of the Presbyterian Women’s study book on Ephesians reminded me: “God keeps sending congregations members with diverse needs, life experiences, cultural loyalties, and even faith perspectives. This divine preference for variety is nothing new!”

It’s a great thing to be able to replace the world’s view of me (too old, too young, too short, too fat, too freckled, too smart, too dumb) with God’s view of me: “And God saw all that He had made, and beyond, it was very good.”  He created each of us in His own image. In God’s eyes, we have great value.

Prayer: Lord, help us to remember that you value variety and that you value the gifts you gave us. Help us to learn to see things with your eyes. In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Nancy Brumbaugh (reprinted from 2008...title added by editor)