People Matter To God

Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived. [Ezra 2.1]

What follows this verse is quite a list of people. There are names grouped by families, leaders, locations and occupations.

Hmm, this sounds a lot like my daily prayer list. If ever I have found justification to pray like I do, today only further confirms it.

The point is, God believed these people were important enough to have them listed here in Ezra (and actually many different times and places in the Bible). If God believed these people were important, then it makes sense that we should see people with some degree of importance as well!

Jesus both taught and embodied the importance of people:

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [John 15.13]

In a society gone absolutely self-centered, Jesus' teaching and example stand forever in stark contrast.

Until true followers of Jesus attain this same level of selflessness, the world will see no effectiveness from them. As long as God's people are 'biting and scratching' for self-significance and position in life, they will only blend in to the very world in which they are to stand out.

I am going to say this because it is true... The Church is guilty of promoting self-centeredness as much as the world does. This is inadvertently done in the Church's regression into teaching about individual ministry and God's will for the individual life. It sounds good for sure, but at its root, it is only the same infatuation with self found in the world.

God's will is not a secret locked away in the heart of every individual! As romantic as it sounds, this is not truth. 

God's will is blatantly on display on the Cross of Calvary preceded by the various teachings of Jesus about putting others first. God's will is clearly seen in John 3.16 - we even see it emblazoned on banners and displayed publicly without shame. And yet, people read John 3.16 with a self-centered romantic's mysterious view of love, instead of a servant's acknowledgement of the Master's will that is to be carried out on the Master's behalf!

People matter to God. There is no lack for Bible references indicating God's desire to share His "good" with the world, all nations, all peoples, every race, and every class. The importance of the lists of people found in the Bible should not be overlooked.

The importance of the lists of people found in the Bible should not be overlooked!

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LISTS OF PEOPLE FOUND IN THE BIBLE SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED!

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

Father, help me to 'get it' that people matter to You and nothing else but people should matter to me. Forgive me for my self-centeredness.