Editor’s note: Jen Carlson is the Assistant Principal at the Jr/Sr High.
I love cars. My first was a 1971 Pontiac LeMans: fire-engine red with a white soft top, power steering, and a positive traction rear differential. In 1985, it cost me under a thousand dollars. It was pure fun. Once, I convinced a friend that my brother had installed a “turbo” feature that was activated by the cigarette lighter. I’d push the lighter in, “floor it,” and watch my friend’s eyes widen in awe at my fast “turbo” car. In reality, the car was nothing special—it was just an old car that we could afford.
Today, that same car is labeled a “classic” and might bring $50,000. New. Old. Classic. These labels change the car’s value over time. Or time may bring value as something “grows old.” Or the label is simply something someone else decides is true.
This has me thinking about the labels we might carry—the ones given to us by others, the ones we mutter to ourselves, or the ones the enemy wants us to believe. The secular world is constantly assigning value based on our performance, our abilities, our age. Today’s youth—especially—may live in a state of comparison to others, may be labeled by others, and may have an inaccurate sense of self.
In the book of Zephaniah, prophetic poetry is written to share God’s warnings about chaos and disorder in the world. God is described as a God of justice in this chaos, a God of warnings. Zephaniah ends his prophecy with hope: a fire that devours evil. This fire is not meant for destruction; rather, a fire against evil. Zephaniah prophesied that God wants to celebrate and protect His world. In fact, Zephaniah 3:17 provides a joyful image of God’s love for us: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you . . . he will rejoice over you with singing.” I love this because we sing to God with praise songs; it is our way to worship Him, but Zephaniah paints a picture of God singing over us. Super, super cool.
Consider this: If a $1,000 car (an old car) can become a $50,000 car (a classic treasure), imagine our own shifts in our own self-worth if we see ourselves through the eyes of our Father. Not because someone names our worth, but because God has known it from the beginning.
When Mr. Spector prays, I often hear him say, “God, may we see ourselves as You see us.” He is asking God to remove the worldly labels and comparisons. We don’t need to be labeled like a car—new, old, or classic—because our worth is claimed by the one who rejoices over us. Rejoices with singing. While the world may assign a label, Mr. Spector’s prayer reminds us that God’s value of us is immense, immeasurable, and truly infinite.
The secular world may describe you based on your performance, a current trend, your shiny clothes, or your “turbo features,” but God sees us in a completely different way. He sees the chaos of the world and in our lives; and instead of seeing a wreck, he takes great delight in us. He sings over us.
In the noisy, frantic, chaos of the world, may you see yourself in the steady, calm, singing presence of God. You are worth God’s singing over you. May you see yourself as God sees you.
