Who Am I? - Pt 1

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:26-31 ESV). We all want to know who we are. We seek and search and try to “find ourselves.” Many of us have taken personality tests and other assessments. We learn that we are a lion, a beaver, an ENFP, an activator, a competitor, a high I, high D. But as helpful as those tests can be, the real question is “Who am I in God’s eyes?”

In one of the little towns I grew up in there is a new restaurant, Marais. It is built on the same location as a home owned by some of my relatives. You can see from the photo that the owners have dedicated a dining room to the “one t” side of the family. While the story behind the spelling of my last name is rather long, suffice it to say that it has been an interesting means to motivate me to understand my heritage. The short story is that my grandfather’s name was involuntarily changed when he immigrated to this country from Sicily. It was originally spelled “Imiti.” One brother had his name changed to “Emmitte” and the other to “Emmite”; though originally they were both Imiti. That was a part of the story that emerged when I began doing some ancestry research. That research told me who my relatives were and where I came from; however, it did not reveal what my worth was. In fact, in all my years as a Christian, I had never asked the question quite this way until I started this research. You can imagine my delight when I found that God has a lot to say about what he thinks about us — a whole Bible full. But if we could summarize it in a short space, here’s how it might sound. We’re going to be looking at some of those descriptions in the coming days. And, today I want to look at the first of those discoveries: We are valuable. Our reading for today indicates we are “more valuable than sparrows.” My reaction at first read was to think, “I hope so”! But as I understand what Jesus is saying it goes well beyond this simple declaration. The impact is that God takes such good care of the sparrows, that there is no comparison as to how much he cares for us. If God does all that he does for these little birds, how much more will he do for me. It is a declaration of our infinitely greater importance to Him! I am valued and valuable to God! That is place to begin each day as it unfolds the challenges and trials of life.