Wonderfully made
by John Berry
On a recent Team Day at Glyndley Manor, we were encouraged to try out some creativity in the form of artwork, craft, or construction. I brought an old Meccano construction set, and one of our staff became totally absorbed in the building of a truck, complete with an elementary steering mechanism. He was amazed that he found the patience and concentration to work at this project for over 2 hours. The result was a sturdy, functional vehicle which was subsequently played with by my grandchildren and added to their toy collection! The best thing about it was the sense of satisfaction and delight that he, the original builder, experienced as he completed his creation.
It reminded me of the verse in Psalm 139 that says ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. We often use this verse to encourage those who’ve come for ministry, but all of us need to reflect on how God, our Creator, views us. Genesis 1:31 tells us that after God had created man He saw all that He had made and it was very good. That includes you and me!
My problem can sometimes be in believing it. When I look in the mirror on ‘bad’ days, and find I’m counting the non-grey hairs rather than the grey ones, or reflecting on yet another ‘faux pas’ I have made during conversation, or struggling with those areas of my life which I thought I had ‘dealt with’, but which surfaced during a difficult encounter with a colleague - it’s hard to remember that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. Right then I feel the opposite is true!
But my subjective assessment needs to be re-evaluated in the light of God’s truth. His truth states unequivocally that I’m God’s very good creation, of infinite worth to my heavenly Father, precious in His sight and cleansed from unrighteousness, through the sacrifice of His Son. This should be the basis for a better view of myself, no matter what my recent failures may have been.
So next time you look at yourself, how about proclaiming those words from Psalm 139. Our Father delights in His creation of us, just as my friend delighted in what he created with the Meccano set. Let’s agree that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’!
Prayer: Thank you Lord for my creation and for the miracle of every human being. I choose to thank you for the body you have given me and remember that it is one of your very special works of art! In Jesus' name, Amen.
John Berry entered the Baptist Ministry more than 40 years ago, and joined the Team at Ellel Glyndley Manor in 2007 with his wife Jennie. They have both now retired from the team but remain as part of the Teaching and Associate Ministry Teams at Glyndley. John and Jennie have seven Grandchildren.
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