Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! John 17:24 (NLT)
If there ever was a surprise pregnancy, the one that produced me could be considered it. Conceived after a Halloween party, my parents were not much more than strangers, and nine months later I was born. Not knowing my dad growing up, I felt like something was missing.
The amazing thing is that even though my parents hardly knew each other, and I wasn’t planned, God knew me. As Jesus’ words remind me in the verse above, from the creation of the world I was known . . . and I was a gift to Jesus. There was no “chance” to a chance meeting of my mother and father. Jesus not only knew me, He loved me and had a plan for my life.
One of those plans includes me being able to stand before fatherless children and say, “I understand how you feel. I know what that emptiness inside feels like. But even though your father isn’t around, I know someone who longs to be with you . . . His name is Jesus.”
As 2 Corinthians 1:6 says, “If we suffer, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are suffering.” Because of the “suffering” I had as a child, I can help others in the same place. I can share the good news that their lives are gifts to Jesus too.
Have you ever considered yourself a gift? You are a gift to Jesus—planned before the creation of the world. You can also be a gift to a hurting person by comforting him or her as you’ve been comforted.
Faith step: Think of a person who’s questioning his or her worth. Write a note to that person and let that person know they are a gift to God . . . and to you.
