Masterpiece

"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.

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 fro me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How amazing are your thoughts concerning me, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand--

when I awake,

I am still with you."

Psalm 139:13-18

I am a masterpiece.  I am not being arrogant or narcissistic when I make such a claim, but am acknowledging the work of my Maker's hand.  How can this attitude, which is so often hard to come by, change my life?

Thoughts of Me?  I sometimes think about what it would be like to be President of the United States, carrying the load of that office on my shoulders.  There must be a thousand details to take care of in the course of a day, and while he has a staff to help him track his responsibilities, the buck stops with him.  He is ultimately in charge and therefore accountable for every action he takes, all the decisions he makes, and the directions he follows.  And each and every one influences millions of people.  Whew!  Talk about pressure!

Now multiply that by a million and I have an inkling of God's position in the heavenlies, reigning over all the earth in majesty and glory.  With all that He has on His plate, why on earth would He ever think about me?  Or for that matter, how on earth would He ever have time to give me a second thought, let alone a first one?  But He does.  His eye is on me, tracking my comings and goings, and He actually thinks about me more than I could ever imagine.  Can I picture how many grains of sand are on a beach?  His thoughts number even more than this.  Incredible.

I must have quite a bit of value in God's eyes if He cares enough to think about me and give such intimate attention to me.  It's time I start living like I believe I'm precious in His eyes and worth more than gold and rubies to Him(Matthew 10:31, Malachi 3:17).

Uncountable.  I recently sat in on a mandatory meeting where my sister's caregivers met with a social worker and attempted to quantify her care needs.  It was a gruelingly tedious process where six categories of care were scrutinized and her caregivers rated the frequency of care needed each day as well as assigning a level to that care, whether verbal, partial or full.  This data was translated onto a numerical scale which gave the state of Washington where she resides an indication of how much care she needed.

As I listened to the endless barrage of questions, I thought how glad I was that I wasn't the one required to quantify such a thing as the care of another human being.  How can one measure the love these caregivers show my sister?  Is it possible to gauge the level of respect they give her as a human being?  How can their heart be shown on a scale from 1-10?  Does that truly reflect what they are doing for her, the difference they make in her life, the impact these selfless men and women make in our family?  I think not.

Similarly, there is no way I can quantify what God does for me, let alone the attention He gives to me.  His attentiveness is simply always there.  And He makes all the difference to me.

I must have quite a bit of value in God's eyes if He gives me the highest level of care possible.  It's time I start living like I believe I'm the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8).

Ever present.  It's hard for my finite mind to grasp the concept of infinity. In fact, when I try to do so it hurts my brain.  I don't need to fully understand something, however, to believe it to be true.  And this is the case with God's presence in my life.  He is always there.  Even when I sleep, completely unaware of my surroundings and totally vulnerable, He is aware and in control, watching over me.  

I need never worry that He'll abandon me because of my unfaithfulness, for He is faithful.  I don't need to wonder if He'll leave my side when I doubt, because He is always sure.  It is never in the realm of possibilities that my fears will cause Him to give up on me, because He is courageous enough for the both of us.

I must have quite a bit of value in God's eyes if He has vowed to never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).  It's time I start living like I believe I'm firmly entrenched by His side, a masterpiece of His own hand.

It's easy to live like I'm not that important, to value others as precious but not see the same thing about myself.  Today it is my desire that I start valuing the attention God gives me as a sign of my own worth.  He thinks about me continually, His attentions are unable to be quantified, and His presence in my life is constant.  If the Maker of heaven and earth gives me such tender loving care, it's time for me to accept the fact that I'm His precious work of art.  I am a masterpiece.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to believe His high opinion of me.

How do I treat myself or think of myself as if I weren't worth much?

How can I honor God by honoring all of His creation, including myself, in the way I think and speak about myself?