You are His Precious Child
By Colonel Genevera Vincent
I was very blessed in my life to have two very godly grandmothers who always made me feel special. There was never a doubt in my mind that I was precious to them-that I belonged to them. My paternal grandmother was outgoing and involved in every aspect of our little corps, taking the position of YPSM for many years while my maternal grandmother was a very shy, quiet lady who would never speak in public. While she never learned to read or write, the love of God was evident in the way she lived her quiet life. I saw Jesus in both my grandmothers and felt special to God because of their godly influence in my life.
On April 28, 2023, I became a grandmother…affectionally known as Nana! My prayer for Callum is that he will grow up knowing he is precious, to his family and to God. When we visit, it warms my heart to listen to our son and daughter-in-law read Bible stories to Callum at night before bed. He will know at the very start of his life that he is God’s precious child.
The scriptures give us many wonderful reminders of our worth in Christ. The book of Isaiah is broken into two themes. Part one, which includes chapters 1-39 is known as the book of judgement and part two, which includes chapters 40-66 is known as the book of comfort. Here, in part two, Isaiah prophecies about the exiles being brought home, and restoration of the nation begins. In Isaiah 49, beginning with verse 8, God is promising the restoration of the nation which he loves and cares for even though they are feeling forsaken and forgotten by God. Verse 15 gives us a beautiful picture of God’s love and care for us. It’s impossible to read verse 15 without feeling precious!
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
What a reminder of our worth! While we can’t possibly fathom a mother who can so easily forget her baby, this scripture reminds us that it can and does indeed happen. Not so with God! A mother may forget and not show compassion, but God will not forget you. God will not forget me. We have been created in the image of God and we are precious to him…engraved on the palms of his hands.
Psalm 139 is yet another reminder of how precious we are to God. The whole psalm speaks of our being known and loved by God. Verses 17-18 from the Living Bible reads, “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!”
Have you ever had someone remark to you, “I have been thinking about you a lot lately?” How has that made you feel? I would assume that it made you feel loved, cared for and precious. While on summer vacation this year, I was able to connect with a cousin I have not seen in over thirty years and a school friend I have not seen in over forty years. In our conversation we remarked that reconnecting after all these years was the “icing on the cake” to our vacation. Reminiscing and reflecting on our growing up years, reminded us of how precious our time was together and how precious our friendships were. I left my hometown this summer following vacation, feeling blessed to be able to reconnect after so many years with people who are precious to me.
I recognize that there may be people reading this blog whose upbringing left you feeling unloved and uncared for. Like the nation of Israel while in exile, you may have even felt forgotten by God at times in your life. I want to assure you again that YOU ARE HIS PRECIOUS CHILD! You are loved, you matter, you belong in God’s family. In God’s family there are no favorite children. Someone has aptly said, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us any less and there is nothing we can do to make God love us more.”
Please hear this, GOD LOVES YOU! You are precious to him and there is nothing more beautiful than watching people flourish in their identity in Christ as his precious and dearly loved child.
