by Lou Seckler (http://www.hopeforlife.org)
Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently that Saddam Hussein was "a piece of trash that needs to be collected." As more and more of Saddam's actions come to light, along with those of his sons, a lot of folks can sure understand Powell's comments.
Sometimes, however, many of us feel a lot like trash, too. But, does God make trash? Here's an illustrative story that may shed light on this question:
A farmer found a baby eagle who, for unknown reasons, had gotten separated from its mother. Unsure of what to do, the farmer took the baby eagle home and put him in same coop where he kept his chickens.
So the eagle grows up eating chicken feed and imitating the chickens' behavior, scratching the ground, the whole bit. One day a wise man visits the farm and notices the eagle living among the chickens. He's curious.
The farmer explains that since the eagle had grown up with the chickens, he thought that he too was a chicken. The wise man expressed skepticism, saying to the farmer that the bird was built to fly very high, fully capable of gliding like the eagle he was, in spite of his chicken upbringing.
To prove what he said, the wise man picked up the eagle and tossed it up into the air. The eagle dropped and landed safely on the grass without moving its wings. Intent on proving his theory, the man again lifts the eagle and tosses it. Much to the farmer's amusement, the same thing happens: the eagle drops and lands safely on the grass.
Undaunted, the wise man tosses the eagle a third time, as high as he can. And this time, something clicks inside the eagle's brain; it opens its wings and flies away, while both men rejoice.
The moral of this story is simple: the world has a way of breaking us and shaping us, changing us in such way that we feel like that eagle in the chicken coop. We have all we need to soar, but we think ourselves incapable, and waste our lives scratching at the ground.
Are you a Christian? Then whatever your level of self-esteem, you have the resources to tear away the world's inferiority complex and be strengthened. Here are three steps:
Step 1:
Learn what God's opinion is about you. His word says: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) We are God's masterpiece -- and it has nothing to do with looks, riches, popularity or power. It has all to do with who we are in relationship to God.
Step 2:
Try to understand God's love for you. Do you feel loved by God? Do you understand how much he loves you? "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (Romans 8:35) As you come to understand how much he loves you, other people's opinions shouldn't matter anymore.
Step 3:
Find you what God expects from you. He doesn't expect you to be perfect or sinless. You will never please God through your deeds alone. Only through Jesus you can be victorious. God expects two things: first, that you trust him, and second, that you obey him. It does not matter who you are. If you feel inferior, you'll never enjoy life at its fullest.
No, God does not make trash when he brings a new human being into the world. The coming of Jesus is a powerful demonstration of your worth. Destroy whatever takes the wind out from under your wings, keeping you from soaring like an eagle. Destroy the corrals in your mind that make you feel inferior. Replace them with faith, hope and love.
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Are you presently experiencing a new life? God's word says, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" This new life is a free gift of God through faith Jesus Christ. If you want to know more about this life that only Jesus can give you, sign up for one of our Bible courses. Wherever you are in life, whatever you've done, you can begin again. You may also contact Lou Seckler at response@heraldoftruth.org if you have questions about becoming a new creation.
