What are you worth?

A pastor started off his sermon by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the congregation of 200 he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill? Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give it to someone, but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, we have all! learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20."

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what happens to you, you will never lose your value: dirty or clean crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to God, Who loves you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE as God's children. You are special - Don't EVER forget it.