Value

I love each and every one of my kids equally. I feel like I should start with that. But not all of my kids were the result of our plans. And what I mean by that, despite the fairly consistent 2.5 years between my kids age, we all know that you can’t usually plan those things out perfectly. From the firstborn, and especially to the last, each child came on God’s schedule and I wouldn’t change it for anything. And I would never call any child an ‘accident’, but, to be honest, we only planned on having 4 kids. Now, for those that don’t know, I have five children, four boys followed by a girl. Obviously there was much excitement when that little girl was born!
And, again, the word accident is not something I would ever use about her. And I would never use that about anyone else. Certainly there are unplanned pregnancies and difficult circumstances that surround many pregnancies, but I believe in a God who values and cherishes all life, even when we don’t expect it. He knows what is going on and is never surprised by anything or anyone. For God, no life is an accident.
And that’s what we’re told over and over again in the Bible. From the very beginning, it was God who breathed life into humanity, from the very first man until today. And though we don’t understand all of the tragedy of why some babies aren’t given that breathe or their breaths are too brief, we know that God loves them all.
And so, if you’ve ever thought (or been told by your older siblings) that you were an accident, know that simply isn’t true. As much as life can seem like a random series of chaotic events, know that your life was planned, known and valued before you were even born. Isaiah 44.2 records God’s words, “I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” That’s true for each one of us.
And, for me, that’s an important truth. Even an essential truth. The problem is the world tends to tell us a different story. Often it tells us that our value is based upon what we do, on what we produce. Our culture tries to tell us that our value is tied to our beliefs and what we value. Even the church can (unfortunately) sometimes tell us our value is based upon on moral choices. And then our own inner voice sometimes doesn’t help either.
And God wants to just remind us how valuable we are to him. In fact, so valuable that not only did he create every one of us but he sacrificed Jesus for us. That’s incredible value. I pray that no matter what anyone else, even yourself, tells you, you know how valuable and loved you are by God. God bless.