You Have Value

We started a great series of lectures today that will go into next week. The topic - relationships. I seriously just want to give you my notes. Our speaker will be covering all kinds of relationships, but she started off with the most important thing. God made us to have a relationship with him.

First some good quotes: "If you don't do anything else in this life, you have to relate to people."
"Relationship, or lack of relationship, is the source of every problem in the world."

The first thing our speaker talked about was Value. She said that the origin and purpose of something is what determines its value. That is why humanity has value. Life is a gift from God, and we reflect His image. Because humanity has value, every single person is worthy of love. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for each person on this earth. To God, every single person has value. If interested, here are some verses that will show you how valuable you are:
John 3:16-17 * 1 Peter 2:24 * Hebrews 9:28 * 1 John 4:7-8, 12 * 1 John 3:16 * Exodus 19:5 * Eph. 2:21-22 * 1 John 4:19-21 * Genesis 12:2-3 * 2 Timothy 2:12 * Revelations 3:21

"Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human beings' entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent on the pleasures of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."
~Mother Teresa.

GOD IS RELATIONSHIP!

Our speaker told us an amazing story I had never heard before from the Bible. I knew about Joseph being sold into slavery and eventually interpreting Pharaoh's dreams etc. And I knew it was his brothers that sold him into slavery. But it was one brother, Judah, who really pushed his brothers into selling Joseph. And Judah's story continues, and it isn't a pleasant one: Genesis 38. I've heard that the Old Testament can get pretty dirty, but wow. Coming to theaters this fall, Genesis 38, rated R. Crazy and gross. Basically, selling his brother into slavery wasn't the only...not nice thing Judah had done. He continued to live his life as a...not nice person...But then something amazing happens. The next time we see Judah, an unknown amount of time has passed. His brothers need to go back a second time to Egypt, and this time they have to bring the youngest brother, Benjamin. Jacob is 100% against this. But then Judah says to his dad, "I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don't bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever." (Genesis 43:9). Judah's attitude had completely changed, the kind of change that only happens after an encounter with the Lord. And you know what? Judah is the one who is singled out in Matthew 2-3 in the genealogy of Jesus. It doesn't say Jacob was the father of the oldest brother. It doesn't even say Jacob was the father of Joseph. It says "Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers." And in Revelations 5:5, Jesus is called "Lion of Judah." After everything Judah had done, God still found so much value in him, that they share a name.

My heart still skips a beat at the realization of this. I can't think of many people who did worse things than Judah, but because he changed his attitude and accepted a relationship with God, Jesus shares a name with him! Looking back on things I'm not proud of in my life, I just find this so encouraging. My Father is so loving. My Father is so willing to accept His children back into His arms. He is just the most amazing God ever! I love being at YWAM!