Have you ever gone through a time when you wondered if you have made any real difference in life or if your life even matters?
Well I have, and I think these kinds of thoughts come to us more as we age and get closer to a conclusion. Just recently again I have had those private thoughts about my life mattering. What I mean is beyond mattering to my family and immediate friends.
On the morning of my 56th birthday the Lord spoke to me this powerful word. Your Life Matters to me! I want you to know that you are unique and special to me. That is probably the best way to start any day, but especially this day, because it was my birthday. The first voice I heard was the voice of my heavenly Father telling me that I mattered to Him and I was specially created by Him and for Him. It did not stop there though. He continued to speak to me about how grieved He is that so many people do not realize this. So many people today are looking for validation and love in the wrong way. They are looking for validation from people who can never satisfy that desire. Your Life Matters!
Unique and Specially Created
Many people today are rallying around groups that are motivated by political or social issues. You see it on the news, so I don’t have to tell you what I am talking about. First of all, they all are protesting or worse, in the hopes of getting your attention to their cause. They want you to know that they matter and that you should join their cause because they are right. They want you to know that it is time to make things right, that it is time for justice to be served, and if you don’t agree with them they label you. And they are all saying they matter as people, and as a group, but each person is missing the deeper point.
Your identity should not be based on the color of your skin, where you were born, whether you are rich, poor, or middle class, what political party you identify with, or any other reason you might think of. Your life, dear reader, matters because of the One who created you. Finally, your Life Matters because you are God’s very unique and special creation. Out of the over six billion people in this world today, there is not another you. Let me show you why this is so profoundly true and powerfully liberating. We will go right to the first book and chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1 in order to show you just how special you are.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
You are created in the image of Almighty God! How could you not be special? How could it ever be that you would allow someone to qualify you in a way that would cause you to accept anything less? The first chapter of Genesis ends with something that reveals just how special you are, and that you are set apart from the rest of His creation.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31
In every day prior to this one you would see that God looked upon what He had created and said that, “it was good.” However, on the sixth day you will notice that God looked upon man and woman and said, “it was very good.” Mankind, the human race, is the pinnacle of His creation. Each person from the beginning was made unique. There is a saying, “we are all unique as snowflakes” that is because there is not one snowflake that is identical to another.
My friend, there is no one like you. You are special; you’re an original, and Your Life Matters to Father God. There is only one race of people and that is the human race. We are set apart by many unique cultures and ethnic groups. However, each one, in each group, is uniquely special. No one is above another from Gods perspective. He favors no one above another. That is why His love is so deep and wide because He loves each one of us for who He created us to be. There are a couple of verses in Psalm 139 that describes how special you are.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14
You should repeat those verses back to God right now. Tell Him, like the psalmist did, what a wonderful job He did creating you. These two verses also reveal how sacred the womb is, and from the very beginning God has a plan unfolding. You and I are God’s handiwork, finely crafted in advance of our being born. If you did not already know this, I hope you are beginning to see just how special you are and that from Gods perspective, Your Life Matters!
You Are Deeply Loved
Perhaps, you need more proof of just how much Your Life Matters to Father God? There is a very well-known verse in the Gospel of John that reveals just how much God loves you.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Our heavenly Father gave Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross so that you could have eternal life with Him forever. That my friend is an amazing love! Jesus the son of God died a horrific death, and bore the sins of every human being. He is the only one to do that for mankind. No other god that people worship has ever done that. Not only are you offered eternal life, but Jesus said that He came so that you could have life to the full. Again in the Gospel of John we read this.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
Notice here that Jesus warns of a thief who would come to steal, kill, and destroy your life. That thief is Satan, the prince of darkness. Are you letting him and his evil forces do that to you? Are you buying into all the propaganda that swirls around you from social media? Has your life in general been so tragically difficult that you have lost hope and feel as though your life just does not matter? Well, the second part of this verse and John 3:16 is the answer to all the negative propaganda, lies, and hate swirling around you. Jesus made a way of escape for you. Take it and run the race of life with joy and purpose.
Your Life Matters so much that Jesus died for you so that you could know just how special you are and enjoy fellowship with Him and others who have chosen to place their faith in Him.
It Is Your Choice
The choice is yours dear friend. Are you going to believe God or another human being? I will close with this question which God still asks each of us today. It is found in Deuteronomy 30:19-20a
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life….”
It is my hope that you will choose life and blessings, rather than death and curses. Jesus made a better way for you. You can trust someone who died for you and rose again to life. He is the Son of God after all! If you have not already done so, just talk to him. That is what prayer is, a conversation with God the Father. He is the One who already knows your name. Confess your sin, repent, and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Begin to walk the path of life and blessings, because Your Life Matters!
Kevin Larsen Copyright 2016, (Used by permission.)
