“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  1 John 4:10-11

My Aunt Margaret and Uncle Wilbur raised sheep.  For the twelve years I was in elementary school through high school, some portion of the summer was spent at their home.  One Wednesday evening we were getting ready to go to church and my uncle got a call that dogs had gotten into one of their pastures.  My aunt and I went on to church while my uncle and older brother went to check on the sheep.  While the dogs were removed quickly, it wasn’t until we had the light of day the following morning that the damage that they had done could be assessed.  I remember riding in the back of the truck looking for injured sheep.  There were several and the scene wasn’t pretty.  Uncle Wilbur loaded a couple on the truck to take home, but most, if not all, of the attacked sheep died.  The basic tactic of the dogs was to chase the herd until one of the sheep got separated, attack it and then repeat the process.    In most situations, there is usually safety in numbers, but isolation weakens our level of protection.

Isolation comes in many forms.  Like many, mine is associated primarily due to illness and my inability to work.  For others, it may be personality type, a change in marital status, leaving the work force, increasing frailties as a result of age, or any of a number of other issues which may present themselves individually or in concert.  Further, one does not need to spend a lot of time unaccompanied to feel isolated.  Often I have felt completely alone while surrounded by people.  Satan loves to find us isolated as it makes us more vulnerable to his attacks.  Just like the dogs with sheep, he uses our vulnerability to undermine our thought processes and, thereby, erode our faith.  One of his first targets is our sense of worth.   He works on us until we begin to forget our true value.

All of the love that we experience in life begins with God and His love is most definitely the greatest and purest form of love that we will ever experience.  In our moments of isolation and loneliness, we need to focus on that love.  As 1 John 4:10-11 tells us, God initiated His love for us.  Further, He reached out in love while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 and Ephesians 2:4-7)  In other words, we weren’t the best, but rather the worst version of ourselves when He offered His love to us.  That tells us that our value does not come from who we are, our talents or what we accomplish, but rather from the One who loves us.  He has set our value.

Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us:  “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”  Consequently, His love for us and our value in His eyes was so great that we were chosen to be His before the “foundation of the world”.  Not only are you loved and treasured from now through eternity, but you have been loved since before time began.

As related in the quote posted on this site earlier this week https://www.dancingthroughthepain.com/quotes/infinite-value/ , the value that God places on us is demonstrated by what He was willing to sacrifice for us…His one and only Son.  I Peter 1:18-19 vividly explains this concept in terms that we can relate to:  “you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”  You’re value is so great before Almighty God that He chose to sacrifice His perfect and holy Son to redeem you from the penalty of your sin and reconcile you to Himself so that you could abide with Him for eternity.

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”  (1 John 1:3a)  Because you are loved and because you are highly valued, you have become a child of God.  You are not a chattel or piece of property, but you are now His child…His heir.  Nothing can change that.

The next time that you find yourself isolated and losing your sense of worth, rely on God’s strength and grace by choosing to focus on the value that God places on you and the love that He has for you rather than allowing Satan devalue or debase you.  Further, stay connected to the body of Christ to the extent that you are able.   By preserving your relationships with other Christians, you maintain your ability to obey the command given in 1 John 4:11 to not only receive the love of God, but to also extend it to others as well.  As we do this together, the body of Christ is strengthened and we maintain our sense of value and worth not only individually, but also corporately as the radiant bride of Christ.

You are precious in God’s sight; you are honored and He loves you,

Will