I Am Free

After class today, I headed back across campus to my dorm and ended up walking behind two girls. They couldn't have been more than 14 or so, and they were probaby from a local high school. The girls were deep in conversation:

One of them said "You HAVE to be able to succeed academically if you're not able to succeed athletically." And the other girl nodded sadly before she said "I wish I were artistic or maybe really musical...then I'd at least have a chance at being good at something."

They both seemed so burdened by an obvious longing to demonstrate their worth. And in the brief moments of their conversation that I overheard, I realized that these high school girls with matching pink laces on their tennis shoes and brightly colored backpacks slung over their shoulders had articulated a profound truth about our society.

We live in a competitive world. We are constantly bombarded with the message that we must prove ourselves to demonstrate our worth. All you've got to do is look around you--you'll see it played out in just about every aspect of our culture. Magazines tell girls that they need to be pretty, fix their hair, do their make-up, wear expensive clothes, and fit into about a size zero to be loved and to be valued. While ESPN and other "masculine" parts of our culture send the constant message to guys that they need to be muscular, athletic, wealthy, and drive nice cars to be "real men" who will be respected by society. And from things as seemingly insignificant as middle schoool dance team tryouts to increasingly cut-throat college admissions process to the pressures of the job market, we are told that we must be pretty, smart, healthy, athletic, popular, successful, and better than the next guy to win a place in society so that we will be considered worthy and significant.

We all participate in this frenzy for acceptance and recognition because we are hardwired with a desire for love and approval. And yet, the attention that we win and accolades we receive will never satisfy us completely because there will always be someone smarter, stronger, faster, or wealthier than we are. In a sense, we're all playing hard and fast at a game that we can't win.

But even though I'm not able to win the praise and affection I so crave from our society, I am loved unconditionally. I am loved with an intensity that surpasses what I have or haven't done. Instead, I am loved purely and passionately for who I am. Even when I feel that I don't quite measure-up, the awesome and all-powerful God of the universe loves me, simply for me. I'm reminded of Isaiah 43 in which God says to his people "I have called you by name, you are Mine." Just thinking of that assurance makes me smile. So much. My God knows my name, and calls me. And even when I'm feeling insignificant, I can rest in knowing that I am valuable to Him, for I am His.

Later in Isaiah 43, verse 4 pours forth yet more assurance of God's love for His children: "You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you." To be precious in the eyes of my God, to be honored, and to be loved by my Creator, my King, and my Redeemer is of immeasurable worth. In this love that is so deep and given so freely, I am free. I am free to find my worth in Jesus rather than in my abilities and acomplishments...and that leaves me free to rejoice in the wonder of each day: to enjoy the beauty of creation, to rest in the love of my Creator, and to proclaim to the world that Jesus is King. For in this love, I am free.