Are you valued?

 Are you valued? - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com The trend these days is about “being seen.” Everybody wants to be seen. There are podcasts about being seen. Millions of people are on social media because they want to beseen. If people don’t feel “seen,” they don’t feel like the world around them is appreciating them or valuing them. People dress to be seen. They buy certain products to be seen. We are arguably living in the most self-centered time in history because technologymakes being seen easier than ever. The importance of being seen is directly linked to having value. The thirst and drive for the world to see a person’s value may well be due to an emptiness within or lack of understanding that being valued by the world haslittle to no eternal value. Many people fear that they have no value if their friends or coworkers or church or even government doesn’t “see” them. Whether the world sees you or values you is inconsequential.In Matthew 10, Christ gathered together his twelve disciples and instructed them before he sent them out “to the lost sheep of Israel,” which was often a hostile environment. In Matthew 10:28, he said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot killthe soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Christ goes on to tell his disciples that the world sees two sparrows valued for a penny, but that not one of them would fall to the ground apart from the will of God the Father.He concludes, “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” This is not a message just for the disciples. It is for each of us. During the Sermon on the Mount, Christ underscored your value in God’s eyes. He talked about not makinga public scene when praying and fasting like “the hypocrites do.” He said we shouldn’t store up treasures for ourselves on earth, but rather for heaven, because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Christ said that we cannot serve two masters,such as God and mammon. Mammon is money, wealth, worldly things. He talks about worrying about what you drink or eat, or about your body, or what you will wear. He uses the examples of the sparrows, who neither sow nor reap nor store away in barns, but theFather feeds them. In Matthew 6:26, Christ rhetorically asks, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” He continues in verses 32 and 33, “For after all these things the pagans seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom ofGod and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” You see, even Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest man in history, said all his worldly deeds were of no account in the end. The most value is to be “seen” by the Living God; the Creatorof all things; the King of the universe! And He does see you and value you irrespective of your station in life, your wealth, the clothes you wear, your social media followers, or how other people perceive you. Don’t worry about what the world thinks–For wideis the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, but narrow is the gateway to life and few ever find it. You are seen and valued by the one that counts.