"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!" (Psalm 139:13-17 NLT)
I’ve been clocking a lot of hours at the local junior high lately, and yesterday one of the other staff members gave me some helpful insight.
“I just try to remember that each one of these kids is someone’s whole world.”
I’ve thought about it long and hard: these kids that we redirect and discipline a hundred times a day, the ones who’s faces light up when they get it and eyebrows furrow when they don’t. The kids who are still figuring out hygiene and interpersonal skills along with long division and social studies: these kids are precious to someone.
I’ve wondered about the ones who got home to a single parents. Or worse, no parents in the home at all; raised by grandparents or aunts and uncles. I worry about the ones who are big stuff at school because they are small and forgotten in their family. I know the statistics; far too many are abused or neglected. I’ve brought these hard thoughts to the Lord and He reminded me just how precious each and every child is to Him.
“Each one of these kids is the Father’s whole world.”
This is true of all the souls in my school, even the most unkempt, awkward, in-between students. But our God’s adoration for humanity is more far-reaching than that. It’s true of the souls at the grocery store and on the interstate between here and Houston. It’s true of our co-worker and our boss and even the custodian who mops up everybody else’s messes. It’s true of those that comprehend it, but also those that don’t. Each and every human was carefully crafted in His image and breathed into existence by His breath.
This revelation makes every day of the week holy and every human interaction sacred. Do we regard them as such? Do we acknowledge these people as precious? Or do we view them as common and contempt them as such?
"Is there anything worth more than your soul?" (Matthew 16:26 NLT)
Lord, forgive us for forgetting. You love us so undeservedly, yet deeply. At tremendous personal expense, You’ve made a way for our rescue from sin. Help us to value others as You do. Let souls be seen and celebrated in our circles as we learn to love and lead like You. Amen.