(by Max Lucado, from "The Applause of Heaven" Copyright 1996 Max Lucado)
In my closet hangs a sweater that I seldom wear. It is too small. The sleeves are too short, the shoulders too tight. Some of the buttons are missing, and the thread is frazzled. I should throw that sweater away. I have no use for it. I'll never wear it again. Logic says I should clear out the space and get rid of the sweater.
That's what logic says.
But love won't let me.
Something unique about that sweater makes me keep it. It has no tag because it wasn't made in a factory. It has no label because it wasn't produced on an assembly line. It's the creation of a devoted mother expressing her love.
And though the sweater has lost all of its use, it has lost none of its value. It is valuable not because of its function, but because of its maker.
That must have been what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, "Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13)
You aren't an accident. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)
In a society that has little room for second fiddles, that's good news. In a culture where the door of opportunity opens only once and then slams shut, that is a revelation.
Jesus told John that a new kingdom was coming-a kingdom where people have value not because of what they do, but because of whose they are.
My Comments: It is a miracle to me that Jesus loves each of us so much. I am really just beginning to grasp how much He loves us. You know I’ve struggled with this for years, but recently I’ve begun to understand that Jesus loves ME... and I can trust Him, when there is no one else I can trust. Most of us think there is always someone we can trust to not forsake us. Some have experienced the frightening reality that there are no humans they can trust... but we can trust the Lord... always, in every circumstance, for all our life, with all our life. What a wonderful reality!
In my closet hangs a sweater that I seldom wear. It is too small. The sleeves are too short, the shoulders too tight. Some of the buttons are missing, and the thread is frazzled. I should throw that sweater away. I have no use for it. I'll never wear it again. Logic says I should clear out the space and get rid of the sweater.
That's what logic says.
But love won't let me.
Something unique about that sweater makes me keep it. It has no tag because it wasn't made in a factory. It has no label because it wasn't produced on an assembly line. It's the creation of a devoted mother expressing her love.
And though the sweater has lost all of its use, it has lost none of its value. It is valuable not because of its function, but because of its maker.
That must have been what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, "Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13)
You aren't an accident. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)
In a society that has little room for second fiddles, that's good news. In a culture where the door of opportunity opens only once and then slams shut, that is a revelation.
Jesus told John that a new kingdom was coming-a kingdom where people have value not because of what they do, but because of whose they are.
My Comments: It is a miracle to me that Jesus loves each of us so much. I am really just beginning to grasp how much He loves us. You know I’ve struggled with this for years, but recently I’ve begun to understand that Jesus loves ME... and I can trust Him, when there is no one else I can trust. Most of us think there is always someone we can trust to not forsake us. Some have experienced the frightening reality that there are no humans they can trust... but we can trust the Lord... always, in every circumstance, for all our life, with all our life. What a wonderful reality!
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