I have a drawer full of odds and ends. Stuff I refuse to throw away. Buttons and old badges, coins and other clutter all of which to the untrained eye have no value.
Sometimes, I am sure I see some people that way. They are in thei world only as an inanimate objects. Since they contribute nothing to my existence, it is very easy to dismiss them as of no value.
To be honest, I am sure others consider me the same. A collected item in a drawer that eventually, someone will empty and throw away.
It is easy to devalue and discard people in our world. The poor, the diseased, the people of other persuasions and habits can easily fit this category. Why keep them around? They add nothing but chaos, confusion and clutter to our lives. These are our world’s most vulnerable. Few of us would protect or provide for people we don’t consider of value.
That is when God steps in. He doesn’t see discardable, deplorable people. God sees souls needing redemption. Each item, every person in the collection is of great value. In fact, the more vulnerable is the most valuable.
In my own strength, my own sense of self worth, I have no value. That is, if I ignore that without God in my life, considering myself to be self-made man, I actually lose value in God’s eye.
My Father prefers those who are the weak, the fragile, anemic and dependent. He can accomplish great things with the vulnerable. His greatest work is accomplished in those who rely solely on His grace.
When you look in the bottom of your drawer, recognize that there are items there that most people will discard. When you walk along the sidewalks and streets, see each individual as of great value. No matter how the world might see them, your Creator God sees great value in every life. He sees greatest value in the most vulnerable.
The rich and famous we know by name. When tragedy strikes them we share their pain. The poor and needy, we consider as collateral damage. Unavoidable casualties in a world of vulnerable people of less value.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV