You're Really Very Special To God

"Today's Devotion" For March 29, 2005

Read: I Peter 2:9-12; Isaiah 43:1-21

YOU'RE REALLY VERY SPECIAL TO GOD

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God..."(I Pet. 2:9)

Do you ever feel special? No doubt your response, and mine, would depend a great deal on how the day, the week, the month, yes, even the year, is going for us. It's a "feel good" question, which presupposes that every person has a need to be considered "special," if even by just one other person. That need to feel special is often confirmed by our feelings and responses to acts of love and friendship offered by others. Perhaps you've had a good friend, a family member, a spouse, a co-worker, or a supervisor do something to acknowledge that you are special. Perhaps someone sent you a card, a letter, a bouquet of flowers, gave you a hug or a kiss, or just a simple pat on the back. Whatever the mode of acknowledgment, the warmth and sense of worth we receive from such things is very valuable. Such actions say, "You are very special, to me" and go a long way in providing us purpose in our lives.

At other times in our lives, people treat us as if we were their special "hate" projects. Put downs, ridicule, and open hatred or disdain are also very real responses we receive from others. We, ourselves, are guilty of letting out our frustrations, anger, hurts, insecurities, guilt, and general sense of despair on others. When we feel like "dirt" we'd like others to feel like "dirt" also. Instead of feeling special, or helping others to feel special, when we behave this way, we allow Sin to have the upper hand in our lives and lead us to despair, rather than recognition that all human beings are special in the eyes of God. To have any sense of purpose or "specialness" about one's life taken away is to be deprived of what it truly means to be a unique and special creation of God.

Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection declares to the world that God considers human beings to be special and precious to Him. From God's perspective, every person is of inestimable value and a special, unique creature whom He wants to shower with His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. When Jesus rose from the grave, He didn't just come out of the tomb, but He came up out of Hell itself, having declared His victory over Sin, Death, and the Devil as He "preached to the spirits in prison (Hell)" (I Pet. 3:19). In His resurrection, therefore, He declares that not only the grave, but Hell, itself, cannot hold Him or those whom He has redeemed. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as noted by Peter, has declared all who believe in Him to be a "chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" and thus, very special to our Father in heaven. By faith in Christ, God's own gift to us through His Word and Spirit, we are declared God's own, special people. We are precious in His sight. He declares us just and righteous, forgiven and whole, because of Jesus. No matter what may happen to us in this world, no matter how poorly life and others may treat us, we can be certain that Holy Spirit will never let us forget that in Christ's death and resurrection God has declared us to be very special and precious in His sight. What a confidence builder this can be for all of our life and living for Jesus!

Prayer: Father, too often I measure myself and my value based upon the standards of the world and how others might treat me or see me. Forgive me for forgetting that the only standards that count are Yours, and Your standards are focused in Christ, and it is through His righteousness that You see me. Help me to understand how very special I am in Your eyes and lead me to respond in humble gratitude by living a life that reflects Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness to others. Guide me by Your Word and Spirit to thinking, speaking, and acting in such a way that I acknowledge the worth and value of other people in a way that leads them to see Jesus in me. In the precious name of Jesus, my risen Savior and Lord I pray. Amen.
****************************

--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.