Precious

There are some people who have lots of friends. They're SO popular. Other people have very few friends. Who do you suppose values their friendships more? The person with many friends? Or the person with a few? Truthfully, I don't think it matters so much HOW many friends we have, it's the quality of those friendships. So let me ask you, how many friendships do you have that are precious?

Webster defines precious as something "of great value, highly esteemed or cherished" - like a precious jewel. Perhaps for some, when we hear the word "precious," it conjures up images of Smeagol from the Lord of The Rings trilogy. "My precious! We wants it. We needs the precious!" Gollum provides us with a different definition of the word precious. For him, his "precious" is more of an obsession. Ultimately, Smeagol perishes in his pursuit of his "precious" ring.

I saw an example of something precious this week. A friend of mine at work recently had to put her dog down. The dog was suffering greatly. It hurt my friend tremendously to do what was necessary but it was done with mercy and compassion and grace. What was precious to my friend, her dog, was converted in an instant to precious memories. My friends desire to have something precious to love once again, led to a precious little puppy being welcomed into her home. After seeing the tears in my friends eyes a few weeks ago, my friend's smile became precious . . . to see her happy again.

The picture in this blog is from a movie called Precious. I have never seen the movie. But I encourage you to watch the trailer. This young girl simply wants to be precious to somebody. She is bullied, abused at home . . . her self-worth is zero. Yet she IS precious!

This past October, my son and his wife gave birth to a baby boy. You want to talk about precious? I can appreciate his preciousness simply by watching him sleep. Of course, he's not always that quiet. When he's cranky, the word "precious" is seldom used. It is during times of struggle that we tend to forget just how precious things are to us.

Before I gave my life to Jesus I had very few friends. I had acquaintances, but true friends were few and far between. Today, I find myself blessed with many friends, even some VERY good friends. They are truly precious and occupy a very special place in my heart. But there is none, no one, who holds a more precious place in my heart than Jesus - the Son of the living God. Why?

"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, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you." - Psalm 139:13-18

Before I was even born, all of my friends were thought of. My wife was created and we "somehow" met through a mutual friend . . . from my high school youth group. It is mind-boggling how God works. I believe he "enhances" situations by bringing people together, all for His ultimate glory.

One of the pastors at our church described all ideal relationships as a triangle. There are three persons involved, not just two. There's you, the other person, and God. With God at the pinnacle of the relationship triangle, think of what happens to an earthly relationship when the two other people each get closer to God. They actually get closer to each other! The two bottom points, as they travel closer to God along the lines of the triangle, automatically get closer to each other. That's a perfect, balanced relationship. That is precious, because relationships like that are rare these.

Our earthly, secular relationships tend to be binary in nature - only two people involved. Imagine the same triangle, God still at the top. What happens to the triangle when the two people on the bottom of the triangle get closer to each other but not to God? They eventually meet in the middle but there is no base on which the triangle can stand. Without a base the now extremely acute triangle can be easily knocked over and the marriage struggles for balance. Many of these relationships fail.

Relationships are extremely precious to God. It is our precious relationship with Him, our faith, that saves us. I pray that your precious soul has surrendered to Jesus so that you can know that most perfectly precious love that only comes from above. There is no balance in any relationship that is solely based in this world. It is doomed to fail. But trust in Jesus? You will soon discover the true meaning of the word "precious."

Remember this song?

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Black and yellow, red and white, they're all precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world"

We ALL are precious in His site. But can the same be said of us? Is God precious? Is He "of great value, highly esteemed or cherished." He should be. If he's not, please make him precious in your life today.