How much would you pay for this portrait?
It’s actually not worth anything… because I drew it!
But the original I copied it from can be purchased today for $125,000!
Click here to view the original!
You see, it’s not what’s in the picture that gives it value, but the artist who created it!
In Genesis 2 after the Lord declares it’s not good for man to be alone and he puts the man to sleep and removes his rib, then fashions woman from it… Well, when the Lord brings woman to man, how does he respond?
There is no delay in his acceptance of her! In fact, Walter Kaiser states this is one of the most animated passages in scripture!!! The man is over the moon ecstatic!
Note he hasn’t had time to assess her personality, consider whether they are compatible or evaluate how good at sex she is!
No! He receives her on the basis of The One who created her!
He’s seen the Lord’s wisdom first hand in making partners for each of the animals!
She was accepted and received on the basis of Who created her!
That, my friends, is a true reflection of inherent worth!
Your value is not based on what you look like, or what you can do, or what other people think of you! It’s based on The One who hand fashioned you in your mother’s womb! And we’re told in Psalm 139:14, His works are wonderful!
How I pray that we will know that full well
and as a result, be able to rest in Him regarding who He has created us to be.
“I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14
Does your soul know this?
If you are struggling to embrace this truth, let me encourage you to take a week and spend time camping out in Genesis 1, getting to know The One who created you!
You see, God is the main character in the Bible. It makes sense that Genesis 1, the first chapter in the Bible is Him introducing Himself! It is amazing what you can learn about God from just this one chapter.
- Begin with prayer. Asking the Lord to reveal to you more of who He is and bind the enemy in Jesus’ name from trying to distract you in any way.
- With a yellow highlighter, read through Genesis 1, highlighting every time you see God’s name mentioned or a pronoun referring to Him.
- With a different colored pencil, read through Genesis 1 a second time, underlining every verb that shows God in action doing something.
- Now take time to consider what you’ve underlined and what it reveals about who God is.
- What difference could it make in your life to know this about Him?
- Now select one thing to dive deep considering… Spend time really thinking this through. I like to use the Look, Listen, Live it out method when I do this:
LOOK: I select one verse to camp out in and write it down at the top of the page
LISTEN: Dialogue with God about this verse. Ask Him why He chose to introduce Himself this way and why He’s highlighted this for you. Ask Him any questions that come to mind and then write down any thoughts that follow!
LIVE IT OUT: What does God want you to do in response to this?
I’ve been taking time every day this week to do this – to select one aspect of who God’s revealed Himself to be and camp out there. And even though I’ve done it many times before – I am being blown away at the new things He is revealing to me about who He is. And since He’s the one who created me, is that ever having a HUGE impact on how I’m seeing myself! And helping me to rest in Him…!
This is why this website is named “Inherently Worthy.” Because the opposite of shame is having a sense of worth. True worth doesn’t come from giving pep talks to yourself! It comes from The Artist who created you in the first place!
And for those who’ve taken the Artist up on His offer to enter into a personal relationship with Him, there’s even more!!!
Are You An Innie or An Outie?
In Matthew 22 Jesus tells a fascinating story to illustrate what the kingdom of heaven is like. This story is about a king who throws a wedding feast for his son. Only problem – when he sends out the invitations no one wants to come. So he sends out different servants and gives a more descriptive compelling invitation. Still no one wants to come. We’re told, instead, one goes off to his business, another to his field, while some of those invited treat the King’s servants shamefully, even murdering them!
After dealing with the murderers the King states, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.” When I read that a couple weeks ago that word “worthy” caught my attention and I wondered what it is in Greek. I discovered it’s the word axios which means “inherent worth” as opposed to timios which means “attributed worth.” And I wondered, “What gives someone worth in God’s eyes?”
According to this passage, it’s responding to God’s invitation!
Every son or daughter of the king has inherent worth! A worth that never changes – even on our worst days! When someone enters into a relationship with the King of Kings His Holy Spirit comes to live in you – talk about becoming a walking treasure box! And your worth, your value is set for all eternity. The moment this happens you become an innie!
Whereas timios is based on things outside us. Timios (which can also be translated esteem, honor, respect) is constantly changing – dependent on what we have, what we do or what position we hold, or what other people think about us. This is why when someone gets a bunch of money or achieves a high position they build a huge monument (eg., Absalom 2 Samuel 18:18). Because Timios doesn’t last.
But here’s the really sad thing – the pursuit of Timios can get in the way of us responding to the King’s invitation.
Note what the people did instead of coming to the wedding feast, “they paid no attention d went off, one to his farm, another to his business…” Why did they prefer working to attending a wedding feast? If you think your value is outside you, that’s what you’re going to want to invest in!
Every single one of us was created with a deep desire to be valued because that’s how we were created to be. But when sin entered the picture…shame entered the picture. That sense that there’s something wrong with me, that I’m not enough. Which makes us want to hide and look to things outside to regain what’s been lost!
For years I’ve struggled whenever I drop the ball, blow it, say something stupid and see reflected in someone’s eyes I just dropped a number of notches in their estimate of me. I find myself saying “You’re such a loser!”
It wasn’t until spending time in the word during this quiet time in Matthew 22, where the Lord revealed I already have axios because of Jesus and how this differs from Timios that I realized what the real problem was. I had value, but was looking elsewhere for what I already had!!! How sad is that?
The next time I said something stupid, and saw my esteem plummet in someone’s eyes sure enough the first thing that came to mind was “I am such a loser.” But this time I didn’t top there! But continued, “what I’ve lost is timios but what really matters is axios, my true worth. And nothing I do or say or what others think can ever touch that!”
I can’t begin to tell you the peace this is bringing to my heart!
inherentlyworthy 