It's nothing new. I know this, in my head. I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I know that I'm as unique as the intricate ridges on the pads of my thumbs. My Life Science course tells me that the combinations of hereditary traits in human beings far exceeds the total sum of atoms on this spinning planet. We are unique, and God has said that He loves each and every soul He's created.
Yet, somehow, it's so easy to get lost in the minutia of mundane life and forget. It's easy to simply think I'm just another bit of bones wrapped in flesh in this rat-race. That this is all just a meaningless day in a meaningless week.
It's not. We're not.
God looked at the infinite options in His infinite knowledge and, as He scanned all the possibilities, He chose you. Me. He looked down and knew exactly where on this ball of mud He would place you. And He decided that, yes, it was good. In His wisdom, He saw what you would become, every thought and emotion that would stir inside of you, and He said, "I love you."
And I am blown away by the sheer force of that love. It's like the lyrics from "How He Loves" by David Crowder:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me...
And then the verse from Isaiah comes to mind: "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." (Isaiah 40:11)
This love overwhelms me. This attention astounds me. And this purpose for my life, slowly unfolding, gives me unbelievable hope.
