Monthly Archives: September 2021

In You!

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “ Try not to become a man of success, but rather become a man/woman of value.”

Being a person of value is something we all seek at some level. Unlike Einstein I do not believe that I can create my own value, although that is something each one of us has endeavored to do.

God’s Truths Reveals Our Value
As a believer in God,  I am finding that the value I have comes from my connection with God. In fact, my identity and  my value come from God “in me.”

I have not always known this. In the past I have tried to create my own value  through attaining levels of education; seeking  titles and positions; and pursuing relationships /associations and things that make me feel valuable. I found that much of my value was dependent on other people’s  system of valuation.  I can still fall into this thinking from time to time.

As I walk with God and take in the truths of the scriptures, I see that God gives you and me true and lasting value by what He brings into us. 

God’s Love in You
The other day I was reading John  17:26 which is a part of the prayer Jesus prayed for his followers. In that prayer Jesus states that he has made God known to them so that God’s love will be in them, and so that Jesus, himself, will be in them. Romans 5: 5 repeats this truth.

  • “I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:26
  • “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” Romans 5:5

The scriptures tell us that God is love. Jesus is praying that as we know God, His love will be in us. Wow, talk about value.  God loves me, and his love lives in me.

It is an astounding truth, even though I do not always feel God’s love or act like his love is in me, that feeling does not negate the truth of God’s love being in me. God’s love in me is value!

God’s Glory in You
Again, in the prayer of Jesus that is recorded in John 17, we see a truth about the amazing value God places in us. In this prayer Jesus refers to God’s glory being in us.

  • The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me”
    John 17:22-23

We see the same truth in Romans 8:29-30, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

The glory of God is in the believer through Jesus Christ. The concept of the “glory of God” is complex and has several meanings,  but in basic terms, in this verse, it refers to  the divine nature. The divine nature of God is in us through Jesus in us.

2 Peter 1: 3-4  further explains this glory in us.

  • “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

In John 1:12-13,  Jesus reveals that through our faith in Him we become true children of God, born of God.  God’s spiritual DNA , so to speak, is in us, and as it unfolds in my life I am participating in God’s divine nature.

On my worst day when I am feeling like a total failure, with no splendor and  very little value I turn to this truth. The truth of “ God’s glory in me” contradicts that feeling. That is value!

God’s Light in You
God places His Light in us. This truth is revealed in 2 Corinthians 4:6

  • “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This verse connects with those written above and solidifies the concept of God’s glory in us through Jesus in us. Light is a beautiful thing; without it our lives would be very challenged.

As one who is slowly losing my physical eyesight, I am learning to value light and the clarity it provides, but spiritual light is even more vital.

The truth that God’s light is in me is astounding. I cannot even say I really understand it. But on those days when my thinking  and vision of myself is dimmed by shadowy accusations, guilt or misperceptions, I am glad for God’s light in me that leads me, that removes the shadows and illuminates truth. I hold on to that truth.

Reflections
There is much to say about the value God places in us through Jesus and the Spirit of God in us.
At the moment, these few scriptures are rich with truth and can provide hours of meditation, prayer and deeper study.

What I love about these truths is that I don’t have to construct or conjure up my own value. I don’t have to toot my horn and draw attention to myself or my achievements to show people I have value. I don’t have to meet the ever-changing standards of people in order to have value.

Even on my best day, I cannot make my own value.  Trying to construct my own meaning and value is wearisome. It is chasing after the wind. God loves me and puts true value in me.

I encourage you to study the truth about God in you.  Let it redefine who you are and give you a true sense of your value and where it comes from.