In our alphabet series of things essential to Christian faith, we’ve reached the letter Y… and whilst there are many useful things beginning with Y (yoke, yeast… not to mention the holy name of God ‘Yahweh’), the ingredient we looked at tonight is YOU! Y is for You.
Most of life is spent understanding that we are not the centre of the universe and that our lives need to be God-centred and God-oriented. It’s true, however, that we are an essential ingredient in this faith journey as far as God is concerned, because He made us for a relationship with Himself. We are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27) and the creation of humanity was described by God as ‘very good’ (Gen 1:31). We may often feel unimportant, insignificant and useless, but God tells us a very different story about our identity and our purpose.
Far from being a faceless number, God knows us by name (see Ex 33:12, Is 43:1) and names are hugely important in the Bible. We often get bored by the genealogies, but they are testimony to the importance and value of individuals.People are listed by name (Numbers 1:20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36,38, 40, 42). Priests are listed by name (1 Chron 23:24). Musicians are listed by name (1 Chron 25). Paul frequently mentions people by name – Phoebe, Epenetus, Adronicus, Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Appelles, Herodian, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and so on (Romans 16). We often know nothing whatsoever about these people or their role in God’s story, but the fact that their names are recorded for us shows us how much God values each individual and so we can be sure that He values each one of us just the same. We may never be famous; our names may never be known widely even within our own communities, but God knows each one of us by name and has good works for us to do which are tailor-made for us. (Eph 2:10) Jesus constantly teaches us the value of individuals (see Matt 6:25-34, Matt 10:29-31) and the parables found in Luke 15 demonstrate the fact that God cares for the one – the lost coin, the lost sheep, the lost son. Never underestimate your value and worth. Jesus died for you. He thinks you’re worth it.