Our True Worth

Read Ephesians 2:4-13

By grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.

-- Ephesians 2:8 -9 (NIV)

I was practicing playing my flute at home and felt I was a good player. This was because there was no one I could compare myself with. Then I joined a local orchestra and felt my playing was not up to their standard. I was continually comparing myself with others, but neither opinion of my playing was accurate.

Then I began to think about my judgment of my own life and realized it was similar. To measure myself against myself is no true guide. And if I measure myself against others, that is just as inaccurate. The only person who knows my true worth is God.

God is not influenced by any past failures or successes. And God does not regard what others think of me. God alone knows exactly who I am, and the unbelievable fact is that God still loved me enough to allow Jesus to die for me. My heart is full of inexplicable joy at this truth.

Carol Purves (Cumbria, England)

PRAYER

Gracious God, teach us not to look to ourselves or to others to know our true worth. We pray in the confidence of your children, saying "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."* Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY God knows our true worth and loves us abundantly.

PRAYER FOCUS

Struggling musicians