Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding

“But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!’”

Isaiah 43:1

For many years, the world has been pushing self-care, self-affirmation, and self-love. We are told to put ourselves first above all things, to only do what will ultimately make us happy, and to stifle any ideas that we might need to change something about ourselves. We are encouraged to be strong and seemingly defiant in our independence, without exactly knowing why. We are taught how to motivate ourselves and build ourselves up—but how can the one who struggles with insecurity be the source of his own confidence? Certainly, self-harm and self-doubt have no place in the gospel. But whatever happened to regarding other people as higher than ourselves? When did selfishness become a positive trait and self-sacrifice a toxic display of passivity? Not long ago, I was talking about the self-love ideology with some friends. We discussed how this movement has resulted from the world’s desire to have no need of a God. If we’re honest, we know that a human being cannot be born into this world with the guarantee that they will be loved by any other human being. But people were designed to need love, and without a loving God, there is nowhere else to find it but from yourself. So the self-love philosophy – while positive and uplifting on the surface – is really the inevitable bleak outcome of a world with no God.

Christians don’t have to worry about whether or not we are loved—we believe in a God who created us and loves us more perfectly than we could ever love ourselves. Psalm 139:14-16 says, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” This is our fulfillment, our identity, our worth—before the creation of the world, God knew everything about us. Yet He still loves us and has a purpose for us; that is the source of our security. We are valuable because we are made in the image of the immortal God.

In Matthew 16:15-18, we read: “[Jesus] said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hades will not overpower it.’” Peter isn’t blessed because he discovered something about himself. He didn’t become more self-aware or learn how to love himself more. Instead, he confessed who Jesus was. Jesus provides him with identity, gives him a new name, and reveals to him his purpose. The same is true for us—the moment we understand who God is, we realize that He sees us as extremely valuable and has extraordinary plans for us. As Mary Magdalene did in the garden, we should respond with joy and recognition when we hear our Lord say our name. 1 John 3:20 says, “We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” Insecurity has no power over us because God is greater than any destructive self-condemnation our heart and mind could devise.

Without God, the world is left to search endlessly for purpose through meaningless pursuits that can only end in ruin. But for followers of Christ, there is no question of what our purpose in life is. We are to obey God’s word, share the gospel with those around us, and glorify Christ in everything we do and say. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” It is God’s plan for us to walk in His good and perfect way. Through Christ, we have been redeemed and made new. No matter what happens, we can never be unloved, forgotten, rejected, or purposeless. What other affirmation could we ever need? As I have before, I quote the key verse behind this blog: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). More than anyone else in the whole world, God loves you. He wants you to know Him and call Him Father and Lord. No amount of self-love could ever rival the relentless, perfect love of God. Surrender your fight to find value from within yourself, and rest in the knowledge that you are the treasure of your Creator.