“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. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” Psalm 139:13-18
I keep a bowl on my desk. The outside of the bowl is covered in verses that are meaningful to me. Inside the bowl is a handful of sand and a few seashells. The beach has always been a spiritual oasis for me. Although my family has never lived near the ocean, we always have managed to make it to the waves about once a year. I’ve been to many beaches both within the states and internationally. It amazes me how each beach can be so different from the next, but one thing always remains the same, the beach always reminds me of how significant I am to God.
I almost want to laugh as I type that sentence because the beach ironically is also the one place in the world that reminds me of how insignificant I am.
My mom likes to call me a toe dipper, meaning when I approach situations, I usually like to dip my toe in the water before jumping in. My brother, on the other hand, will just jump straight into situations, earning him the title of the cannonball. True to my nickname, my beach journey usually begins with me sitting in the sand, taking in my surroundings. It’s among the millions of grains of sand that I start to feel my insignificance.
At some point, I will make my way down to the water, usually with a snorkel mask in hand. Snorkeling is my favorite part of going to the beach. It amazes me how much life is below the surface of the water. My way of snorkeling is different than most, I don’t use the flippers, you can usually find me floating, face down. I float because the flippers tend to flip up all the sand below me, blocking my view.
Remember, I’m still a toe dipper, so you won’t find me too terribly far from the shore, but I get deep enough to where the schools of fish are swarming, the bigger fish are preying, and the colors are vibrant. Although it might look chaotic at times as so many different things scurry about, when I stay completely still and just watch, I find a melody within the chaos.
There’s so much going on below me and they move so fast that most of the time I can’t even get a good look and then I remember that I’m only seeing a small fraction of the whole ocean and there’s so much more out there.
It’s floating above this whole other world that I find myself feeling my insignificance.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
Every day God proves how significant we are, by choosing us, over and over again. He knows how many grains of sand lay beneath me when I sit on the seashore and yet, His thoughts for me outnumber them all. He calls me by name, not by number. He sees all the contents of the vast ocean and yet His thoughts for me are vast. The creator chooses to think about me.
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Today is Good Friday. Today we remember the darkest day in history. We remember the day that our Lord and Savior was brutally murdered. Today we remember my sin, not His. He had no sin, but He willingly laid down His life so that I could have mine.
On Sunday, we will rejoice remembering the greatest day in history. We will dance and sing and praise God for choosing us. For choosing the insignificant and making us significant in His eyes, through His bloodshed.
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36
As I stare at my bowl on the corner of my desk, I’m reminded how significant I am to the creator of the universe, the creator of the beach and the creator of me. I’m reminded how significant you are to the creator of the universe, the creator of the beach and the creator of your inmost being.
This Easter we have an opportunity. We don’t have to look past the distractions around us, they have already been dealt with… The stores and restaurants are closed, sports are cancelled, there will be no parties, churches will not meet, it will be up to you. He made the sacrifice. He chose you. Will you choose Him this Easter?
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