“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” -Jeremiah 1:5
What a remarkable verse to come across, but just like everything else in this world, scripture is only as impactful as you let it be. Everyone has heard the saying “I know you better than you know yourself,” but what many of us fail to realize is the truth and sincerity behind that statement in regards to our lord and savior. When God created us, he didn’t just throw your genes together, mix them with some personality, and call it a day; he took genuine time and effort to create each and every one of us in distinct, unique ways. God knows how many hairs are on your head and even greater than that, he knew the answer to THAT question on THIS day before you were even born, before you were even formed in your mother’s womb. This information may seem meticulous and silly and maybe even unimportant, but it is so much more than you will ever realize. God has taken the time to know these tedious details because he CARES for you, he LOVES you, and he CHERISHES the mere thought behind the amount of hair he placed on your head. Deuteronomy 14:2 says, “for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.” God created you because he treasures your being; he gave you life for a purpose. He considers you holy and desires for you to love and accept him as your savior.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” -1 Corinthians 15:3-4
We all sin, do wrong things. There is punishment for our sin. Jesus died and rose again to forgive us of our sin. This is that message we must believe and pass on. God loves and cares for us so much that even though we are still sinners, even though we go against him every day, and even though we choose selfish desires over heavenly ambitions, he still sent his only son to die on the cross for all of our transgressions. There is no love greater than that shown by the crucifixion. We are saved by grace through faith because of the decision Jesus made on that cross and for that I am thankful, for that I believe, for that I choose to be second. Romans 3:10-12 says “there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” That’s an incredibly powerful verse that truly puts everything into perspective. None of us deserve to go to heaven because none of us are good enough. None of us are considered righteous, understanding, worthy, or good because every one of us sin. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us;” though we mess up and fail God day after day, he still loves us and wants us to be with him and he demonstrated that by sending his son to live a perfect life, die on a cross for our sins, and three days later defeat death by rising again (Romans 5:8).
“He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less.” -John 3:30
We were all brought to this earth with unique attributes that set us apart from every one around us; however, each of us have the same purpose in life: to bring God glory in everything we do. Whether you are an incredible athlete, a fantastic speaker, or a phenomenal artist; whatever your niche in life is, I pray you utilize it by bringing glory to God’s name. 1 Peter 4:10 says “each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” God gave you the gifts, the talents, and the abilities you obtain for a specific reason. He is calling you to use those to bring others to know him, he so thoughtfully gave them to you, the least you can do is willingly serve him by embracing those qualities.
So with all of this encouragement being said, all of this Scripture and love being presented, I pray that you will really let your thoughts marinade on this last bit of information. As I stated in the title of this blog, today just so happens to be my birthday. A day that this society has deemed “important” and “celebration worthy” for whatever reason you may choose to believe; however, my choice of celebration this year is a little different than in the past. I choose to celebrate my birthday by celebrating this day for others instead. Yes, 21 years ago today, I was born onto this earth, but so what? Before time was even measured, God created everything here so that we COULD be born onto this earth: let’s celebrate that. Many years after God created the world, he sent his son to die for our sins on this same earth: let’s celebrate that. On a future day that no one knows specifically other than the Father, the Son of Man will return to this very earth: let’s celebrate that. And finally, there will come a day that we leave this earth and because we have accepted Christ in our hearts, we will join him in heaven: let’s celebrate that. My point is that yes, it is my birthday today, but in less than twelve hours that won’t be celebration worthy anymore. However, no matter the day and no matter the time, we can always celebrate Christ. So I pray that you will join me in doing just that.
“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” -Philippians 1:21
Until next time<3
