A friend of mine has a brilliant illustration he uses when talking to young people about their worth in God's eyes. He gets them to imagine that a new, one-of-a-kind work of art painted by Picasso, Van Gogh or Monet has been found. He then gets them to think about how far people would travel – from all over the world – just to get a glimpse of this masterpiece. How much they would pay to get access to the museum hosting the artwork, and how many would long to get close to it to examine its full beauty.
He then says this is just a tiny reflection of the amount God cares for us, his children.
He made us each unique, individual, and one-of-a-kind. No one has ever or will ever walk the earth who is exactly the same as us. We are his masterpieces; made in his image and called to live out our God-given identity as his sons and daughters.
The Bible tells us time and time again that we're priceless to God, yet it's easy to lose sight of just how much we're loved. Here are 10 Bible verses to remind you that you are precious in his sight.
1. Isaiah 43:1-2
"But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.'"
2. Isaiah 49:16
"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."
3. John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
4. Ephesians 2:10
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
5. Jeremiah 31:3
"The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'"
6. Psalm 139:13-16
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
7. Psalm 100
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
8. Romans 5:8
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
9. 1 John 3:1a
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
10. Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."
