Another rant....

What do we place the measure of our self worth in? Do we measure is y cognitive function or creativity? Physical strength, attractiveness or virility? Is it in our ability to be 'nice' to everyone, make people laugh, cry or experience any other conveyor belt emotion?

The answer I'd love to give, especially as a Christian, is no, of course not, but the more I look around at the Christian Marketplace the more I see this isn't true. Consumer churches, generic interchangeable worship teams, sermons-in-a-can... Are we any different? Yes, we offer Jesus, but can we do it without the Hugo Boss and cosmetic war paint? How come I get the feeling there cool Christians and uncool ones? Didn't Jesus come to break down those barriers?

If we hold on to the secular measuring stick what can we possibly hope to offer the 'ugly' 'stupid' and 'unlovable'? I use those words harshly but with good intent. Does God love me because I'm intelligent? No. Funny? No. Attractive? No. If I was to wake up tomorrow blind, dumb, deaf and paralysed. I Know Jesus would still be at my side with his arms around me.

So then, all these measures that I hold so tightly to, become irrelevant, which is terrifying, isn't it? For they define the very core of me, don't they? I am defined by what I look like. It means I can be told apart from others. I am defined by what I do and the skills I have. I am defined by my ability to make others react in a particular fashion, esp laughter. But do any of these things define my value? If they do then we immediately enter into our own caste system where people are ranked according to value. You cannot tell me this doesn't happen in Christian circles too? Even Paul had to address it in the church at Corinth, explaining that no one gift was better than the others. For us? Look at the Hallenstein and Glassons clones that inhabit our worship teams... and heaven forbid a speaker should ge tup on stage in jeans and a t-shirt (unless of course there is a suitable Christian alternative label to be worn).

Now I"m not knocking all these things (well, yes I am). I'm just at the point where I cannot use them to measure my value.
God doesn't work like that. He can't work like that, because then his love for me is dependent on me and that is doomed to fail.

You can't complete this sentence "God loves me because I _____" you can only say "God loves me because He _______"

that is our foundation, that is our cornerstone. That is the fundamental, underlying simple truth that God has been whittling me down to.

He loves me because he_____ I have no say in the matter. I can either reject it, making God a liar or I accept it as the constant on which to rebuild who I was designed to be.