Aren’t You Far More Valuable to Him?
Much of the generation entering adulthood right now is desperately wounded. Some of these young men and women may have grown up fatherless or motherless or maybe a parent was emotionally detached. They have grown up with no direction in life and have not sensed the caring oversight that comes from a loving heavenly Father. Because of this, they are turning away from the Christian message completely.
Even those looking for hope in Jesus look around their church and wonder, “Everyone is raising their hands in worship like they feel really loved. Why don’t I feel that same way?” They react to their wounds in various ways, of course, but one side effect is universal. They carry with them a sense of being unworthy.
Jesus addressed this state of mind directly in his Sermon on the Mount while speaking to an anxious, wounded generation: “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ... Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you” (Matthew 6:25, 28-30, NLT, my emphasis).
What incredible news for any generation — but especially for a wounded one. The heart of the message is Jesus’ question: “Aren’t you far more valuable to him?” It is actually a statement, in fact, and it cuts straight through all anger, stress, anxiety, frustration, and deep sense of failure.
Today, God wants to show you how valuable you are to him, how powerfully you belong in his family. He has made you to be an heir, with a great heavenly inheritance. And most wonderful of all, you are his valuable treasure and he wants to have fellowship with you!