The Penny
As I sat on a park bench, I noticed the penny on the pathway.
As people hurried by, no one gave the penny a second glance. After all, it was only a penny–small and insignificant–and not worth stopping to retrieve.
How Others Know Us
Staring at the penny, I thought, By the world’s standards, I am not much different than the penny. To the government, I am known as a social security number. I am known by an account number to the merchant and service companies. And to the credit card companies, I’m known as an account and a credit score. The same is true with most of the places I go. Most of the people I meet don’t know my name. In the hurried pace of life, even if I shared my name with them, they would probably forget it soon.
How God Knows Us
But this is not how God views us. The God of the universe calls us His children. In God’s economy, He knows His creation, and He knows our names too. In fact, He knows everything about us and values us dearly.
Our earthly fathers wouldn’t call us by a number. They wouldn’t sit at the dinner table and say, “Hey 219685, how was your day?” Instead, our fathers call us by the name they gave us at our birth. God does the same but on a grander scale. He calls us by our name, not a number. We are significant to God–created purposely for His Kingdom. Most of all, God considered us significant enough to send His only Son to die on the cross to forgive our sins and give us the right to become His children.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
~1 John 3:1a NIV
So, the next time we see a penny lying on the ground, we can think of the significance it represents. And if we look closely enough, we will see some significant words on it: “In God We Trust.”
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
~John 1:12 NLT
How can you better understand how much God values you?
Heavenly Father, I trust You. Thank You that I have supreme value. You know me by name, and You sent Your Son Jesus as proof of Your extravagant love for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Genre: Non-fiction
Copyright 2019: The Penny: Sandra Stein: All Rights Reserved