We must recalibrate our worth and our value. If I had not seen myself as worthy of a relationship, then crossing paths with my future wife would have done me no good. I would’ve already talked myself out of what God was bringing to me before it ever arrived.
We’re talking about no longer determining our worth by the standards of our culture. That is to say, your academic accomplishments are not what validate you—a public or private school, a GED or a PhD. They are not your measure of worth. Your worth is not determined by your social media followers, reposts, or likes. It is not determined by your expense report or your child’s behavior. Your value is not determined by your position on a team, the size of your waist, or the amount of weight you can bench-press.
Additionally, the connections you have with friends, the number of stocks you hold, and the amount of money in your checking account do not determine your value. Your worth is inherent and cannot be measured by these external factors.
This isn’t easy to digest, but it is necessary for us to get to a place of rest and confidence. If none of these things determine your worth or value, then what does? What is it that dictates how valuable we are to one another and how valuable we are as individuals? A favorite Bible verse for many is John 3:16 (NIV): “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And Romans 5:8 (NIV) reads, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Then, in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, we see clearly that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth.’” (Genesis 1:27-28, NIV) These are but a few of many verses that establish the worth and value of a human being.
You are loved by God.
Christ gave His life for you.
You are made in the image of God.
You are blessed and have purpose.
These verses, and others like them, are not an announcement that we have arrived and are no longer in need of development, direction, correction, or guidance. Just because we are fully loved does not mean we are fully mature. Look at toddlers. Their parents love them unconditionally, but each child is still on the road to development and maturity. And yes, every child will develop differently and at their own pace, but they are not loved any less. Parents try to help their child reach their full potential.
God loves you unconditionally, and His desire is for you to mature and maximize the potential He’s put in you. You are surrounded by the love and grace of God found in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That means your worth and your value do not fluctuate, because God is love and the work of Jesus Christ is finished.
My wife loves to shop for clothes. And she loves a good deal. She’ll even notice what some person of influence is wearing, and she has the investigative fortitude to find the knockoff so she can rock that designer look for a discounted price. I am all for that. I’m extremely grateful she has this ability. It has saved me, on many occasions, from feeling the need to give plasma so my wife can wear beautiful clothes. She knows how to find great deals, often discovering pieces that have been marked down three or four times from their original price.
If Jesus thought you worthy enough to die for, you have incredible, unperishable worth.
Some of us feel like discounted shirts. There was a day when we felt we were worth a bunch, but then we sat on the rack or in the warehouse for a certain period of time, and now we think our value has gone down. Maybe we begin to put it out there in our words and body language that we will accept less. But I would like you to consider for a moment how God truly sees you. You don’t lose your worth and value because someone spilled something on you or because the seasons changed. No, my friend, that’s not how it works with God. That might be how it works in your family or in your friend group. It may even be how it works in your mind. But allow me to insert the truth: If Jesus thought you worthy enough to die for, you have incredible, unperishable worth. Jesus’s sacrifice was made willfully, obediently, and joyfully for you. So live into that worth for the glory of God.
Excerpted from Get Your Spirit Back by Earl McClellan. Copyright © 2024 by Earl McClellan. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Used by permission.
