My blanki is special. And so are you.

When I was little I had a blanki. It had Mickey Mouse on it. It was awesome. Now, I don't remember this because I was tiny and my brain had not yet gained good memory skills, but one day, when my dad was leaving town for a business trip, apparently I walked up to him and gave him my blanki to take with him on his trip. This blanki was literally a square piece of cotton with some pictures of an animated mouse on it, definitely not special because of what it was. But my dad still has that blanki today. It means the world to him because of what it represents, the bond between father and daughter. It is valuable because he loves it, and because he loves me, and not for any other reason. It is valuable because my dad said it was.

Hypothetically, lets say someone asked you which meant more to you, a poem you read in a book, or one that someone you love wrote for you. Which would you choose? I would guess that most of us would choose the latter. Maybe it's a poem your 2 year old son wrote for you, or a silly one your best friend wrote for your wedding toast, or even one your parents wrote for you when you were born. In any case, it may not be the best poem in the world by the world's standards, but you love it because it has value to you, a value only you can ascribe to it and maybe no one else understands.

Value is not just a price tag or some other label of worth. Value is given to things that matter, the real question is, what matters?

All of this spurs from something I read today:

"The world loves because of value, but Jesus' love creates value--in us."

-from "My First 30 Quiet Times" by Ty Saltzgiver

Do we see how different these two things really are? One tells us that we are valuable because of what we are, the other tells us we are valuable because of who we are. We can change what we are, but we can not change who we are. If we're honest, this terrifies us. If Jesus' love is true, which I wholeheartedly believe it is, we can't control our value. We can't earn more gold stars, gain more brownie points, or give ourselves more pats on the back. What we do does not affect our worth, which means it is utterly out of our control. And lets face it, humans hate being out of control.

But do we see the flip side? If we can't control it, I mean truly can't control our value at all, then Jesus' love is so radical! His love for us makes us valuable and we can't ever do anything to make us less valuable to Him. His love is perfect, thus our value can not be shaken. We can be completely loved and completely secure and all the while be out of control.

This is not the world we are accustomed to. The world tells us we are valuable because of how we look, how we act, the choices we make, the grades we get, the job we have, the friends we choose to be with, the family we are a part of, the romantic relationship we are (or are not) in, and the list goes on and on. Some of us have most of the things on that list, others of us have none. The problem is, whether we have them or not, none of these things last forever. But if Jesus' love is true, none of this has to define us. If Jesus' love is true, the world is lying to us in every way possible. If Jesus' love is true, our value can never run out when everything else in our life falls to pieces. If Jesus' love is true, we matter.

This means different things to different people. For those of us who believe we matter, we must ask ourselves why. Is is based on what we have and what we do? Or is it that we feel so utterly loved by our perfect Father? Is it because the world has always said you matter? Or is it that you see the truth of Jesus' love for you, even while you are imperfect? For those of us who have trouble believing we matter at all, we are still assuming it's about what we do. We think we aren't good enough, and can never be good enough, to matter to anyone. If you fall into that group, I challenge you to ask this question: does God make worthless things? If we begin to see ourselves as the created beings of God, we start to see our value more and more clearly. God says He made us in His image, how could we be worthless? (listen to the song "You are More" by Tenth Avenue North, it's excellent)

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

-Genesis 1:27

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

-Luke 12:24

We are valuable because of who we are, nothing else. We are the created beings of God. We are His beloved. No matter what we are, we are His. Ladies, you are His daughters. Men, you are His sons. We are heirs to the throne with Christ. We are royalty. Not because of our job or our money of our looks, but because He loves us--and His love creates value.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

-Romans 8:16-17

Friends, know who you are, and whose you are. Know that you are loved and that you are valued beyond anything you can imagine. Father, may we think of ourselves as valuable, as the created, as beloved sons and daughters. And may we see each other for the people You created us to be. May we know we are valuable, simply because You say we are.

also, I am currently listening to the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. It doesn't really relate to any of this but it's really good and I think you need to hear it. That is all.