You Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
One of my favorite Christian authors is Sharon Jaynes. Many years ago I read her book “The Power of a Woman’s Words,” and then through the years most of her other books and devotionals.
Something that comes through in her writing is the background of her personal story. She writes about struggling with feelings of inferiority, shame, and insecurity. But the key for her in overcoming this was understanding who she was in Christ and that her value and worth actually comes from God Himself. What an amazing truth that is a joy to share with people, especially when we’ve experienced this truth ourselves!
It reminds me of a time about six months after our family adopted Sasha from Ukraine. Sasha was cheerfully helping me clear the dinner table and stacking the dishes high before each trip to the kitchen sink. I asked her to not take so many at once so she wouldn’t accidentally drop them. But sure enough, on one trip some of the dishes fell off of the precarious stack and broke into pieces. My immediate response was to say with a raised voice, “Sasha, I asked you to not do that so this wouldn’t happen!” She had an upset look on her face and bent down to start picking up the pieces. I quickly collected myself and knelt beside her, put my arms around her and apologized for raising my voice saying I knew she didn’t mean to break anything.
Her response broke my heart, “It’s ok, Mom, you don’t have to apologize to a person like me. I’m not worth it.” My hug grew much tighter as I explained to her she was wrong in what she thought. She is a person of great worth and value, just like every person is. And when someone does something that’s wrong to her they should apologize just like she needs to apologize whenever she might do wrong to someone else. Sasha intensely listened as she tried to understand. Her experience in the Ukrainian orphanages had caused her to believe the lies she had been told because it was reinforced by how she had been treated there. When Sasha began to be treated with value, and learned of her infinite value to the God who created her, her perspective began to change.
It has struck me repeatedly in recent months and years how incredibly sad it is to see people all around us who do not view themselves, or their children, as having eternal value. In fact, in many cases people have been sold lies about how worthless they are. It comes in many forms. One is the lie of abortion: and I say lie because women have been convinced to believe the extermination of their unborn child should be celebrated. Talk about a lack of value! And sadly, many women realize too late the lies they believed.
I’ve also come to see that the push to “transition” children (and adults) from the wonderful way each was created by God, whether male or female, to something else, is all about the messaging, “You’re a mistake. How you’re made is a mistake. You should be someone different.” Anyone believing this lie isn’t accepting the truth that they are fearfully, wonderfully, and purposefully made by a loving God who created them to be exactly who they are.
There is also a growing push for people to start accepting euthanasia as a positive thing to be celebrated. If you think you’ve outlived your best days or someone else has, consider ending that life on this earth: life has lost its value and meaning.
All of these things are evil lies straight from our enemy, Satan, who is only about attacking God’s beautiful and wonderful creation: human beings created in His own image. The devastation of such things in the lives of people is already, and will continue to be, great.
As Christians we have the privilege to tell people they are valued and loved. They are created by the Almighty God who wanted them to be. We can treat all we encounter with that understanding. If we belittle people, or disrespect people, we are perpetrating the lie. We also may need to embrace that truth for our own lives. We are each fearfully and wonderfully made and are of infinite value in the sight of God. But how wonderful to know the truth and share the joy of that with other people! It is the glorious Truth that sets us free from the bondage of lies.
