you matter
I promise this is not really an attempt to sort out the whole black lives matter, blue lives matter, all lives matter, hungry people's lives matter, sick people's lives matter extravaganza. I think we can all agree that everyone matters and sometimes it's important to shine a light on a specific cause. I don't think I'm qualified to sort that all out though, honestly I don't think any of us is really qualified. But I do think we are all qualified to treat each other with respect. As I've scrolled through endless online conversations, memes and articles, there is one thing that strikes me as being painfully absent: Your life matters.
Down deep I think we all long for a sense of purpose and significance. I believe we're created that way. It's the question that plagues us. What is my purpose here? Am I important? Am I making a difference? Do I matter? Yes. You matter. You have purpose and you are important. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to see the difference that someone has made. But each life impacts others.
We can spend years searching for purpose and significance, trying to prove our worth. We can look in all kinds of places...jobs, families, volunteer work, relationships. Here's the problem. We can't prove it. No more than the earth can prove that it is the earth and it has a purpose. It's just something we have to accept. Dear beloved one, you have purpose and value. You were created for good things! It's so important that you know this!
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
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Here's the thing though, everywhere you go today, you will see people. And each and everyone of those people, regardless of their race or their gender or their religion or their clothing or their world view or value system or driving skills or any other variable, was created by the same God who created you. Each of those people has value. Each of those people has the same potential for love, for good works, for meaningful relationship with a God who was willing to sacrifice His Son for any single one of us.
We have to start treating each other this way. We have to start seeing each other as people, not as groups or causes, but as people, created in the image of God, with value and purpose. Will all of those people always make good choices? Will they always treat you as though they value you? Nope. And that's just not the point. Your life matters. And your life matters. And yours. And yours. And yours. Each of the 7 billion lives on this planet matters. We have to start believing this and we have to start treating each other this way. It's got to start somewhere. I'm starting here, looking for ways to show others that they matter. Will you start in your little corner of the world?
