What David Knew: Made by God

This is part one of a six-part, six-week series based on Psalm 139:13-18.

We live in a world where we're all tempted to judge our worth based on how we match up to what we think we need to do or who we think we need to "be". Some of us overestimate our worth, some of us underestimate it – when we judge ourselves by those criteria. We can say our society is to blame for advocating this "do something"/"be somebody" mentality, and it is to an extent, but it doesn't take long to see that this is actually a human issue, not a societal one. Examples can be found throughout the Bible, but one example that jumps out at me is the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23.

When asking Jesus about obtaining eternal life in verse 18, the young man says, “What shall I do?” We're told in verse 23 that he was a man of great wealth, and judging from the way this passage goes, the young man likely found his identity in his money and his ability to do and not do as he pleased. I don't want to vilify this guy, because we're not so different. Human nature – at least our fallen human nature – is to try to guarantee our own security. Adam and Eve felt the urge even at the beginning.

In Genesis 3:7-9, after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit, they were ashamed and "sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves" and hid from God. This is what happens when we look at ourselves through our eyes rather than through God's eyes. God still loved them just as when He created them. There was discipline for their actions, sure, but they remained precious to Him.

Just the same, your life has meaning, significance, worth – regardless of what you’ve done or not done. Know that you are special. The psalmist David knew he was, and he knew why.

He was able to write in Psalm 139:13, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb" (New Living Translation), because at some point, rather through divine inspiration or through Scriptures or through other means, he had heard from God, “I made all the delicate, inner parts of your body and knit you together in your mother’s womb.” And that truth – not what you've done or what you've become – is what gives you tremendous, matchless worth.

Genesis 1:27 says God created humans – male and female – in His own image. Then immediately, He blessed them and gave them dominion over all the earth (Genesis 1:28). I remember one time, before my boss went out of town, he called me into his office and said I was going to be in charge while he was away. That made me feel pretty good because it was affirmation that he thought highly of me. Well, that's nothing compared to the affirmation God gives us! The One who created the earth and proclaimed it "good" (Genesis 1) turned right around and gave us responsibility over it. I'd say that's a sign He thinks pretty highly of us, wouldn't you? As "good" (Genesis 1) as the earth is, it's not His masterpiece. We are. You are. Through humans, God has chosen to reveal Himself in the world.

God has created you and blessed you. He has empowered you to have a wonderful influence in this world. How do you do that? You don't have to "do something" or "be somebody." Just be you.

Now, I'm concerned as I write this that some may accuse me of ignoring or even denying that we are born with a sinful nature, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:3 (and as is verified in other Scriptures). Or even worse, there may be some of you who have never heard about "original sin," and I don't want to misguide you into thinking that the sin in your life is okay because you're "just being you."  The truth of the matter is, the purpose of this message is to affirm our innate human worth and sin is irrelevant to that, which is why I'm not focusing on it here.

However, I do believe that when we hear from God, “I made all the delicate, inner parts of your body and knit you together in your mother’s womb,” and when we realize He created us in His own image, we can't honestly swell with pride and think, "I'm great." Personally – and David does the same thing, as we'll see later in the series – when I read these verses, I can't help but look to God and praise Him and thank Him, and want to live in a way that honors Him. There is no way we can look upon our sin with anything but a godly sorrow when we see it against the backdrop of God's holiness. And that is the pathway to salvation, through Jesus Christ! (2 Corinthians 7:10)

Okay, back to Psalm 139:13 for one final note to close this first installment in the "What David Knew" series: God didn’t just design you and then put you on an assembly line to be put together. He didn’t hand you off to His subcontractors. No, He took your creation into His own hands – literally. He personally knit you together in your mother’s womb.

I love that knitting is chosen as the illustration here. Did God really knit you with a couple of needles and yarn? No, but it’s apparently the closest process He could use to describe it in a way we can understand. He could have chosen all sorts of assembly processes here: snapped, glued, nailed, bolted, etc. But those all sound rough and fast and cold. Knitting is artistic. It is delicate. And it is unique!

Ask someone who knits if they’ve ever knitted two identical items and they'll tell you haven’t. You can follow the same pattern, but the nature of knitting is that each piece will have a unique weave. In human terms, we call that DNA. There is only one of you, and there is nothing you can do and nothing you can become that will add or take away from God's masterful work. God loves you.

Do you know someone who needs to be reminded that they are a special creation of God? Loved and cherished just as they are, for who they are? If so, please consider forwarding this message to them. Or "digg" this message below for all the world to see! And I hope you'll come back next Thursday for part two in the six-week series, where we'll look further at just what a marvelous creation you really are!

Bless you.

Comments

[Hopeful Spirit]

Thanks so much for participating in The Seventh Day blog carnival this week! What a wonderful addition to the carnival this post is! I love the way you have looked at this scripture, esp. this passage: "God has created you and blessed you. He has empowered you to have a wonderful influence in this world. How do you do that? You don't have to 'do something' or 'be somebody.' Just be you."

Hope you will participate again in the future! :-)

[Sunny Daydreame]

I've always like the image of God knitting us together. One thing that you left out of your description of knitting is that it is intentional. You have to count and plan to make your project come out the way you want it.

Likewise, God created each of us intentionally.

[PITS]

Sunny - You're absolutely right, and that is a very important note about knitting that I missed. Thanks for taking the time to read and share with us.