You Matter!

One of the community activities we do here at WillowBridge is accountability in daily devotions. Even though I write devotions upon occasion (and have some out for publication this month, in fact) I struggle so hard with how many of them are presented. More and more, I see devotional readings that are all about the writer's thoughts and barely nod to Scripture at all. 

Our staff here at WillowBridge really wants to see the tenants get into the Word itself, so we're trying to present a few devos that push them to open a physical Bible or look up verses online and see what the Bible has to say directly! 

The staff is doing the same devo line and talking about it together, and yesterday's reading took us to Luke 12:6-7. If you're very familiar with Scripture at all, you probably know these verses, even if you don't know they're located here:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

One of the things I encouraged the tenants to do is to read the verses around the actual assigned passage, because it's always important to see things in their intended context. These verses are part of some teaching Jesus shared with the disciples - and I actually love the way He went about that. 

Luke 12:1 says, "Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to His disciples..."

It's been a while since we've seen a crowd of many thousands trampling on one another, right? Ryan is watching football while I'm writing this, and now and then I glance up and see many thousands...of empty seats. Seats that would normally be filled with people somewhat trampling each other to get in...get out...get the best view. It's a strange sight to see the emptiness when we're used to such fullness.

But Jesus didn't let the fullness of trampling crowds clamoring for His attention deter Him from first turning to the disciples - this crew of twelve that He so specifically and intentionally invested in. He taught them first, and in that teaching, He made a point of reminding them how much they matter. And they weren't just words. They were words backed up by Jesus' actions, as He turned to these men first. 

His first instruction was to warn them about hypocrisy and how it can so easily and quickly spread. He talked about how hidden gossip and words will be brought to light and nothing will remain a secret. 

And then He encouraged them not to fear people, even though they can be awfully hurtful here on this earth. He reminded them that the One who matters is God Himself, because He holds eternity in His hands. 

Then He reminded the disciples that they matter. They matter more than the tiniest bird that is so insignificant in the world that they barely have monetary value. He told them that they matter so much that all the hairs on their head are numbered by God. 

We know these things in our head, I would venture to guess, but do we hold them to be true in the center of our hearts? When people say hurtful and unkind things to or about us...things that spread like yeast throughout bread dough...are we able to look past the understandable sting (or gaping wound) that comes into our soul and trust that we matter to God even if we don't matter to the people with the loud mouths? 

These verses ended up in our study on fear because in verse seven, Jesus said, Don't be afraid; you are worth more...

We want to matter. We want to have worth and value. 

And we do.

Jesus said it. 

Don't be afraid of what people say about you or to you. I'm not dismissing that the words hurt. I have been (and still am) the recipient of hurtful words. The sting is real. But don't let the fear stirred up by their gossip and slander override the truth that you are worth more. You matter. 

I don't know how many of you need to hear that today, but I'm guessing at least one of you does. So I echo what Jesus said: Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.