“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16).
AT ALL TIMES, GOD IS AWARE OF HIS WHOLE CREATION, BUT HE IS ALSO AWARE OF EACH PART OF HIS CREATION. God did not merely create “the human race,” but He created each of us as individual persons. Surely God must have had a purpose in making the creation as He did, with many various parts, all unique and different from one another. Surely His Fatherly joy must come not only from thinking of His work as a whole, but from thinking of the uniqueness of each part. “Thou thinkest, Lord, of me . . .”
Do you ever envision the “mass of humanity” as a faceless, nameless crowd? Do you lose sight of your personal identity as a unique creature? There may be times when our thinking goes too far in the direction of individuality, no doubt, but I believe there are also times when we need to nourish our hearts with Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:29–31: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Do you ever despise your own set of particulars: your circumstances, your characteristics, your life? Do you ever wish you had someone else’s situation? Do you ever doubt that what you can do is going to matter in the larger scheme of things? If you do, my prayer is that you will learn to appreciate (1) the greatness of the creation of which you are a part, and (2) the uniqueness of the part that God had in mind for you personally. In the grand oratorio of creation, God wasted no effort on duplicate or unnecessary parts. Without your voice, the music will be marred and diminished.
But finally, let us consider that if we’ve obeyed the gospel and are walking faithfully with God, we each have a relationship with Him that is absolutely unique. God would have sent His Son to the cross if you were the only person who needed to be saved, and having saved you, He loves the way you respond to His goodness.
“Each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can. Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently?” (C. S. Lewis).
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
