Worthy

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WORTHY

Luke 12:4-7

4 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

NIV

These are great words of encouragement from our Lord. To consider how much our God loves and cares for us, that he knows the number of hairs on our heads, is so uplifting. Of course, there is also this warning about fearing that old devil himself, Satan who is after killing our soul, our spirit, so that we would not inherit eternal life in the presence of our Lord. We do wonder how God has allowed Satan to have that kind of authority to kill our bodies and then throw us into hell.  The one we should fear may be God for he has the authority to throw us into hell.  However, God did create us in their image which would include having a free will to choose how we want to live, either in obedience to God or in rebellion against God. Adam chose poorly and in essence was cast out of paradise, which was the plan all along of the old devil the serpent who himself had been cast out of heaven because of rebellion against God. Yet, now we have made the right choice and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and desire to live in fellowship with God seeking to follow his commands, wanting to be obedient, even if we fail, have been reinstated into the kingdom of God and will once again be in His paradise. Nevertheless, we still must deal with the one who has the power to throw us into hell. Every day he makes his attempt with the temptations of this world to get us distracted from following Jesus. We know that there have been those who professed Jesus as Lord and Savior and have walked away, turned their backs on Jesus to follow another course, giving in to the temptations completely. We know that is always possible, if we are not aware of the schemes of the devil, to fall for them and become his prey, in his snare, and hauled off to a place we do not want to go. Praise God, He has provided us with the Holy Spirit who gives us that gift of discernment so we can see fully the schemes of the evil one and the Spirit has also given us the strength and ability to resist those temptations. In addition, God has dressed us in his armor which is just another way he demonstrates how much worth we are to him. His armor provides us the defense against all the schemes of the devil, and the powers of this dark world so that we can take our stand, stand firm, and stand our ground. To be of so much worth to God, that he sent his only begotten Son to suffer the way he did and the humiliation of the cross, is overwhelming. How could we ever fall prey to those schemes and give in so that we would be thrown into hell? No, we are secure in Christ, our Rock our Foundation, our fortress, our refuge, our Savior, and the love of God. We sing, “Worthy is the Lamb”, but to think that God sings, “Worthy are my people, worthy to be saved” puts a deeper meaning to life. We are worthy.