When I look around my office, I see all sorts of things that are “hand-crafted”: I see lots of books; I see a painting given me by Jeanne Ballve’. I see a sketch of my previous church and its altar by a good friend of mine, Orrin Morris. I see a beautiful ornate wood carving in the shape of a cross made by Carol Rutter’s friend. And I see a collage of pictures that Berniece Miranda put together with all of the people of the church represented. And each of them were created by artists that took extra time and effort to make their craft.
I can imagine writers laboring over the words that they are going to use. I can imagine artists holding a steady hand, thinking through how the light reflects off the objects they are crafting. That is not how it is with stuff that is mass produced. That stuff is fluff: words strung together so people will keep reading, instead of pondering the deep subjects that are discussed, art that is produced to sell, instead of coming from inside the heart. And then I think of Psalm 139, and it wonderful words about each of us being God’s creation. One phrase in particular from that Psalm sticks out: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139: 14a).
Did you catch what David was saying there? God feels the same awe and wonder when God gazes at us that we feel when we see the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls, or the complexity of a plant and all its parts. In this Psalm it is as if God amazes himself as each person is created. That tells me that we are not mass produced, not put on a copy machine, but instead are “hand-crafted,” and with much care, like the objects in my office.
When was the last time that you gave yourself credit for creating awe and wonder in God? Even with all of your baggage and scars from past mistakes and struggles, and we all have that baggage and those scars, God still looks at us and says, “You are mine. I call you my own. I created you, and I said, ‘it is good.’ I love you.”
Do we not worship a wonderful God, that we are that loved, no matter what? I hope that worship is a positive experience for you.
Blessings, Sonny