Because You Matter and We Can All Do the Thing That Matters Most
Standing at the sink, soap suds filling my hands I hear a
voice behind me.
“Mom, I feel like I don’t have a purpose. I mean, I can’t do anything well. I’m not really good at anything, I don’t have
any talents or whatever. Why am I even
here?”
I know this question all too well, precious child.
In a world that manufactures idols out of ordinary people
every day, where people make idols out of themselves, where movies, t.v. and
social media continually tempt us to self-aggrandize and self-publicize, and
where all it takes is one glance at another person’s facebook page to make you
feel that all of life is a competition to be won and you are clearly the
biggest loser that there ever was, yes, my child it can be hard to feel like
you matter.
But I need to tell you something.
You matter to God.
You are important to God.
Because God, the eternal Creator of all things, does not
make trash. He does not make
mistakes.
And He made you.
This Creator God has purpose in every action, every detail,
every creation from His hand. From the
tiniest krill in the ocean to one celled bacteria, there is purpose for each
and every thing on this earth. And you,
my child, you are made in the image of God himself. A picture of the beauty and glory that God
is, how much more purpose does He have for you?
You may never have your picture on a magazine, or your words
tweeted around the world (or even around the school). You may never sing on a big stage or star in
a movie. You may never play professional
sports or have a PhD behind your name. You may never preach from a pulpit or
travel the world. You may never get three million likes on your facebook page
or even three hundred, but don’t ever forget that you are loved by the only One
that matters.
You are loved by the God who made you.
He has purpose for your life.
What if your purpose isn’t public, isn’t applauded, isn’t
enviable by the world but what if your purpose is so precious, so important
that no one else on this planet can do it but you. Because it is. It is.
What if the sacred task He is calling you to is the calling
to love?
Because love is our calling. Because we were first loved by
Him.
And love is
what matters most.
When I think of the
people that have most impacted my life, it wasn’t the most talented people, the
most famous, the most beautiful, or the smartest, it was the people who showed
me great love.
The women that I most aspire to be like are the godly women
in my life who have showed me what it means to serve others with great love, to
love beautifully, sacrificially, humbly and in spite of great pain, loss, or suffering. And I know that I do not live up to this
standard, even with the precious people in my own home. And so I pray for grace to love like Jesus
even though I do it imperfectly.
And I remember that it is God’s love that changes me too.
“And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have to the poor and
surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1
Corinthians 13: 1-3
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.”1 Corinthians 13:13
I could do seemingly great things for the kingdom of God but
if I do it without love, it is pointless.
We all have a high and noble calling, the calling to love in
everything we do.
All around you are people that God has put there for your
life to touch, for your love to reach, love them well. And whatever your task is today, do it with
love. Sweep that floor, do those dishes,
teach those children, give care to the sick, manage, serve, preach, sing, play,
talk, encourage, with love.
Today, my child, you matter to God. You have a purpose, a calling, even right
now, to love in everything you do and say because you have been loved by God. And we are made in the image of this God
who is love and we can love because of His great grace making us more like Jesus
everyday.
Because maybe love is what matters most.
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