WE'RE WORTH IT

It's unfathomable how many people struggle with their own self-worth. They wonder if they are of any value to God or man; feeling like a weed, unneeded and bothersome. How could they ever obey the commands of God if they are not worth the effort of His love? Before I began following Christ, I feared rejection and therefore made few, short-term friendships. Today I face rejection on a daily basis for the Gospel of Christ, and though I often feel discarded and hated, I don't quit. You know why? God has made a promise to me and you: "Since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and people in exchange for your life" (Isa 43:4). What must I do to become precious and honored to God? What must I do for Him to love me? We'd be a fool to answer with anything else but “nothing.” We do not deserve to be loved, but we are. When we learn to see ourselves as God sees us, we discover that the impossible becomes achievable: Sauls become Pauls, Simons become Peters, the barren become fertile, and sinners become saints.
However, His valuation of us comes at a price: our obedience. “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). Our most valuable possessions are worthy because of their use to us. We aren’t worthy of God’s love, but we can be worthy of His praise.

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. Flannery O'Connor

PRICKLY ROSES

"Rebuke a wise man and he will love you." My mentor, Cecil Bean, once told me that the only way to distinguish between mockers and wise men was to rebuke them. If they hated you for your critique then they prove themselves fools, but if they respond with humility and teachability, they prove themselves your friends. Many relationships begin with this sort of exchange. One person initiates a conversation; a meeting is established, and a likeness discovered. But then the test: someone attempts to cross a barrier that was once "none of his business." How the other responds will measure the lifetime of the friendship. A guy once told me that he wanted to be my friend rather than a disciple. I told him that I was looking to make friends out of disciples and not the contrary.
If we want to make friends from disciples rather than attempt to disciple our friends, then we must learn to present prickly roses. Solomon tells us, "In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery." We like flowery praise but if there is no prick of the conscience, then it will wither and die. Hebrews reminds us to “spur one another on towards love and good deeds.” You cannot spur a friend in love if you don’t also offer a stinging kick to his rear end.

“Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not.” Flannery O'Connor