Psalm 139:13-16
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
As anyone knows who has ever seen it up close and personal, the birth of a child is at one time both a miracle and a very messy process.
I had the amazing privilege of being present for the births of all four of our sons and those are experiences that I will always treasure. Each time my wife delivered a baby into the world I was overwhelmed with the wonder of God’s gift to us and I wept like a baby myself.
But birth is not an easy process; it’s not easy for a mother and it’s not easy for a baby! I would mention that it’s nerve wracking for the father too but any anxiety I may have felt pales in comparison to the pains of labor!
One of our sons was particularly beaten up in the birthing process. While many babies look suspiciously like Winston Churchill, all babies are beautiful in their own way. But our baby looked like he had just come through a heavyweight prize fight! His head was oddly shaped and bruised. One of his eyes was a bit swollen and his face kind of battered-looking. But he was ours and, of course, we thought he was beautiful.
A couple days after we brought him home from the hospital I went back to pick up the photos that were taken of him right after he was born. When I stepped up to the receptionist’s desk in the maternity wing a sweet looking woman, who was obviously a volunteer, looked up and asked if she could help me.
I said I wanted to pick up our newborn’s photos. She asked me for his name and I told her. She then rifled through some folders until she found the folder with his name on it.
She said, “Here it is…let’s take a look!’
And then she opened the folder and saw the photo that was taken of our son within minutes of his birth and she recoiled almost in horror; “Oh my!” she said, before realizing what that sounded like and catching herself. She quickly tried to cover up by saying something like, “Well, uh, what a little sweetie!” But I knew what she was thinking!
Why are our children so beautiful to us no matter what their physical condition or appearance? The Bible says it this way:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
These beautiful words, written over 2500 years ago, tell us that our children are beautiful to us not just because they are our offspring, but because they are created by God himself.
The Bible teaches that every single child born into the world was created by God, is known by God and is loved by God. Scripture goes so far as to say that God knew each one of us even before we were born.
The gospel, therefore, tells us that our value as human beings does not come from our physical health or beauty; it does not come from our talents or accomplishments; it does not come from the family or culture we are born into. Our value comes from the God who created us in his own image, knew us before we took shape in our mother’s womb, and loves us enough to die for us.
You are beautiful because God created you; and you have eternal and inestimable value because the gospel says you do.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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