For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

Have you been there?

• We pick up our daughter from school, expecting the usual chatter on the ride home. Instead, silence fills the minivan as our young teen stares out a side window. Attempts to initiate conversation fall flat, and later we find her crying in her room.

• We hear our elementary school-age son muttering over homework, calling himself “stupid.” When questioned, he insists that “he just can’t get it.”  Our encouragement falls on deaf ears as our frustrated offspring is convinced he doesn’t measure up to his peers.

• Our high school senior is on the fast track to an athletic scholarship. Until he suffers an injury that sidelines him for the entire season. His college future now seems uncertain.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). We bear the image @lthomaswrites #purpose #value

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In a million big and little ways, our children face times of intense struggle over their sense of value and self-worth. From the kindergarten days through adulthood they are hit with countless ideas and opinions concerning how they measure up to ever-changing standards.

This is why it’s vital for us to remind our precious ones of the true source of their worth and value—for us to lay a foundation of unchanging truth on which they can build a life.

When our children face the inevitable doubts—actually before the struggles ever reach them—it’s time to share a reminder:

They are image-bearers of the One True God.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,
so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,
over the livestock and all the wild animals,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-28

So, what’s the big deal? Why is this important? Because this tells our children that their worth and value is rooted in their Creator.

• Not in what other people think.

• Not in what they see in other people’s eyes.

• Not in the stuff they own, the games they win, or the clothes they wear.

But in the knowledge that they are made in the image of the Creator of the Universe.

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A great quote by C.S. Lewis, a gifted writer and philosopher in the early 1900s, says:

There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal.

Every man, woman, and child on this earth is somebody with unique potential, simply because they are image-bearers of the Most High God. Everyone is destined for eternity—either in the presence of God or forever cut off from Him.

Again, why is this important for our children to know? Because it lays a foundation of confidence in who they are—a beloved child of the King of Kings. And it frees them to live with purpose and joy. They don’t have to stress about finding worth and value in the eyes of a friend, teacher, or coach. Because we all know that the dead-end world of people-pleasing is a miserable existence.

This perspective also helps our children to see those around them as unique individuals, created in God’s image. This knowledge will hopefully inspire them to be more patient and compassionate with others and to be the one who is willing to speak up for the underdog.

Our children need to know that as Christians, the person next to them at any given time is either their brother or sister in Christ or someone in desperate need of a Savior. Either way, that particular person is in need of fervent prayer and unconditional love.

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What a precious privilege to teach our children of their worth and value in Christ. To give them the tools they need to walk with confidence on their life’s journey.

And what a perfect reminder that moms are image-bearers as well. Beautiful, loved, and treasured by the One Who knows them best.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

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Reminding our children: We bear the image of our Creator @lthomaswrites #life #family

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