What are you worth? It's better than you could imagine!

So what are you worth and upon what do you base that worth?

These are important questions because so much of what goes on inside of our minds and hearts is touched by our answers.

• A desire to feel valuable is why it stings so badly when others ignore or mistreat us.
• A desire to feel valuable is why we feel ecstatic when others applaud us.
• A desire to feel valuable is often why we strive to excel in at least one area of life and celebrate our own personal achievements.

(By the way, isn't it comical that a society filled with people who want to feel valuable is insistent on teaching a theory of science that says we evolved from monkeys, are here by accident, and that nothing we do is of any lasting / eternal worth?)

So, as Christians, what is the basis for our worth?

• Is it who our parents are?
• Is it how much money we have?
• Is it our previous accomplishments?
• Is it how attractive we may be?
• Is it the size of our house or the location of our neighborhood?
• Is it the color of our skin?
• Is it how valuable others perceive us to be?

All of these and more are often used as the basis for our worth. But, they are superficial. 

Further, they can be outdone by others. (Have you ever heard a conversation between two individuals who were trying to impress each other with their personal achievements or where they vacationed or ... whatever? They were both talking and neither one was listening. They both craved to be impress and be affirmed by each other but were too busy focusing on themselves.)

So, what is your value based upon? Simply read the following text:

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

Simply put, this is what your value is based upon. You, my friend, are God's masterpiece. Further, you don't bear the image of monkeys - you bear the image of the God who created the universe! Go outside tonight and look up at the massive night's sky and meditate on the fact that the God who spoke those stars into existence also made you, my friend!

Now some folks deny that we are still created in the image of God. With their fingers pointed on Genesis 5:3, they say that we are now created in Adam's sinful, fallen image - not God's.

Genesis 5:3 "When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth."

Yet, when we read a few more chapters and arrive at Genesis 9, we get to listen in on a conversation that God had with Noah. Listen to the basis upon which God required that a murderer receive the death penalty...

Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."

So, we are still created in the image of God. Every single person has value. 

• Those who are Jesus-followers and those who are not have value. 
• Those who are "red, yellow, black, and white are all precious in His sight." 
• Those who are intellectual giants and those who are mentally challenged have value. 
• Those who are elderly and those who are moments after conception have value.
• Those who live on both sides of the tracks have value.
• Etc., etc., etc.

Every single human being has value! And this means you, friend!

And if you are a Jesus-follower, then you aren't simply generally valuable - you are specifically valuable. You are a child of God and Jesus is your elder brother. You have royal blood flowing through your veins and you will one day walk streets of gold!

So, don't hang your head today. You are filled with unimaginable intrinsic worth that cannot be taken from you. Your value is not found in yourself but in the God who created you. What He says is all that matters and He is telling you that you are His masterpiece made in His likeness.

... and by the way, when we find out value in ourselves, it not only is based upon something fleeting - it also makes us arrogant. But, when we find our value in the God who made us, then that is something that can never be taken away and it gives us a very healthy, humble attitude.

So, live the moments of this day reflecting on the fact that the God of all creation has declared you valuable and realize that God has declared the same thing of every person you bump into.