As a former teacher, I can recall many playground arguments. They usually went something like this. “My dad’s better than your dad” and the response was, “No, my dad’s better than your dad”. As much as we laugh at this childish banter, we have all been there in some way or another. What were we fighting over? It usually comes down to making sure that we matter. If our dads are the best then we are too! Every human being needs to know that they matter.
The primary message of the Bible speaks to this deep need in each of us. Psalm 139 reminds us that from our very conception in the womb, we mattered to God.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made… (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)
Every life is precious to God. No matter who you are, or what you have been labeled, or what you have experienced, or how you have been treated, your life matters to God. He loves you. He is concerned about you. He wants to bless you. In Psalm 8 the writer is asking God the question do we matter when he says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4).
Here is the profound story of Scripture. The same God who created the heavens, created us and we matter to Him. Every one of us. He is no respecter of status or reputation. He’s not swayed by lineage or position, wealth or poverty. “For God so loved the world… ”(John 3:16).
And, no place is this more evident than at the cross of Jesus. At the cross, all people are equal. We are equal in guilt, in sin, and in the weight of our rebellion. At the cross, we all need a Savior. And, only at the cross, do we find that Savior, willing to die for all people. Jesus paid it all, and Jesus paid it for all! If you were to stand at the foot of that cross, if you could see the drops of blood as they ran down the tree, it would shout, “Here, your life matters!”
So this is the truth. Our Dad is the best because we matter to Him. That’s the truth.
All people — including Christians — go through moments of disbelief. We even use the common phrase, “I have to see it to believe it,” to express our need to see and understand something tangibly. We may have negative thoughts that separate us from what God wants to do in our lives.
Throughout my work in ministry supporting children, I have heard countless heartbreaking stories where it feels impossible to help improve their situation. However, I receive many good news reports that counteract the negative. God shows me His power and miracles through projects supported by CBN. Every time I encounter a difficult situation that is difficult for my human reasoning, the Lord reminds me:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” – Romans 12:2
Recently, I discovered a project was ending due to a lack of resources for the children in the program. These children received their only meal thanks to this project. Volunteers joined in prayer to cry out to the Lord for His provision.
God made a way, and His miracles and wonders were on display as Orphan’s Promise was able to continue this program. It was there that God confirmed this teaching,
“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people” – Acts 5:12
Think about how many miracles we see daily. For me, it’s a miracle that God has chosen me as His daughter to be a blessing to others and thus be able to see and be a part of His wonders. For you, what miracles do you receive daily?
Think of the blessings God has given you, the battles you have fought, and the miracle of waking up each morning to a new day and the opportunity to see and be a part of God’s wonders. See that being alive is a miracle because God has a great purpose for you in His plans.
Father, thank you for loving me and setting me apart to be your child. Please help me see the wonders and miracles you pour out each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Imagine that you’re mowing your lawn one day when two police officers approach you. After clarifying your name, they handcuff and escort you to the police car while your house is searched. When the officers say they’re arresting you for robbery, you declare your innocence. “I don’t care whether you did it or not,” one of them replies. “You will be convicted.”
It gets worse. The charge of robbery becomes two counts of first-degree murder. But you were at work when the crimes happened, fifteen miles away. “If you didn’t do it,” a lieutenant quips, “one of your brothers did, because y’all always helping one another.” It starts to become clear your guilt is assumed because you are Black.
This horror story is a true one. In December 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was charged with the murders of two restaurant managers in Birmingham, Alabama—crimes he didn’t commit, bringing a sentence he didn’t deserve, robbing him of thirty prime years until the US Supreme Court overturned his sentence on Good Friday, 2015.
Struck by Injustice
Several things struck me when I first heard Ray Hinton’s story. First was the degree of injustice he suffered. Ray’s conviction had been based on a revolver found at his mother’s house, said to be the murder weapon. But the gun hadn’t been fired in over twenty years, and proper ballistics tests had not been done. Ray’s first lawyer was both prejudiced and incompetent, delaying Ray’s chance of a fair hearing by a decade. And when Ray passed a lie detector test, the results were conveniently ruled inadmissible in court.
Next was what Ray had to endure while living on death row. His cell was so small he slept in a fetal position on the floor. Inmates cried out at night from nightmares, and some took their lives. Since Ray’s cell was next to the execution chamber, when a prisoner was put to death Ray heard and smelled the effects.
But something else struck me about Ray’s story. During a radio interview, a journalist noted that Ray didn’t seem bitter toward those who’d wronged him. “I cannot hate [them],” Ray said, “because my Bible teaches me not to hate.” Given what he’d endured, it was quite a statement to make.
Courtroom Grace
On his final day in court, Ray addressed each person involved in his trial. “Do with me what seems good to you,” he told the judge, “but as sure as you put me to death, you bring blood upon your hands.” Ray then told the judge he’d be praying for him.
“I’m just one black man, and that don’t mean nothing to you,” Ray told the prosecutor, who’d been particularly cruel. Then he added, “I don’t hate you… I love you. You might think I’m crazy for telling a man that I love him that’s done prosecuted me and is trying to send me to the death chair, but I love you.”
Ray also turned to the District Attorney, the bailiffs, and the police detectives who had all lied about him on oath. “I’m praying that God will forgive you all for what you have done,” he said. “You’re going to die just like I’m going to die… But one thing—after my death, I’m going to heaven. Where are you going?”
He survived a living hell without rage or bitterness.
Where did Ray get this strength from?
Secret Strength
“There is a man up above who knows I didn’t do it,” Ray told the court that day, “and one day . . . he’s going to show you that I didn’t do it.” Ray’s belief in a God who would ultimately vindicate him gave Ray hope and strength. But there was something more.
Listen closely to Ray’s words and we find them echoing Another’s:
“I don’t hate you… I love you.”
“I tell you, love your enemies… ”
“I’m praying that God will forgive you… ”
“and pray for those who persecute you.”
As Ray awaited God’s justice, he acted on the words of a speech that showed Gandhi how to protest peacefully, Dietrich Bonhoeffer how to oppose the Nazis, and made phrases like “turning the other cheek” and “going the extra mile” part of our everyday vocabulary: the Sermon on the Mount.
Spanning just three chapters of Matthew’s gospel (chapters 5–7), the Sermon on the Mount can be read in about fifteen minutes. But in this succinct portion of Scripture, Jesus addresses everything from prayer to conflict to relationships to possessions. Yet an underlying theme runs through it all:
Resilience.
Jesus reveals this theme at the end by telling a now-famous tale of two builders. One builder constructs his house wisely, digging below the surface sand to build on the bedrock, while the other just builds on the topsoil. The storms come, the second house collapses, and Jesus uses the image to complete his teaching:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24–25).
At times the Sermon on the Mount makes for uncomfortable reading. Some have judged its ethics impossible to live up to. Challenging though they are, Ray Hinton’s life shows they can be lived now, however imperfectly. As we let the Sermon shape our priorities and direct our steps, Jesus says we will build lives that can withstand life’s storms.
Ancient Strength
Resilience has become a big topic in recent years, with researchers investigating what helps people stand strong through turbulent times. Psychologists like Martin Seligman suggest the most significant factors include:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24–25).
At times the Sermon on the Mount makes for uncomfortable reading. Some have judged its ethics impossible to live up to. Challenging though they are, Ray Hinton’s life shows they can be lived now, however imperfectly. As we let the Sermon shape our priorities and direct our steps, Jesus says we will build lives that can withstand life’s storms.
Ancient Strength
Resilience has become a big topic in recent years, with researchers investigating what helps people stand strong through turbulent times. Psychologists like Martin Seligman suggest the most significant factors include:
1. Positive emotions: Resilient people amplify positive feelings like peace and hope, while managing negative ones like sadness and anger.
2. Accomplishment: Resilient people can look at something in their life—whether work, a hobby, or another activity—and feel they do it well.
3. Relationships: Resilient people develop good friendships, family cohesion, and connections with their community.
A healthy heart, significant achievement, strong relationships, a sense of meaning. As it turns out, the Sermon on the Mount shows us how each of these factors can develop in our lives through divine means rather than purely human. And as we shall see, it’s the weak and inadequate who are best placed to receive God’s strength.
Perhaps you’ve been tossed by the torrents of divorce, unemployment, tragedy, or injustice. Or perhaps right now your skies are blue, and your future looks bright. Jesus never said we’d be spared the storms of life. At some point we will be tested and stretched. Whatever your situation, now is a good time to strengthen your life’s foundations.
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