Fearfully & Wonderfully

Inspired by the great Pastor Danilo Cortez of New Heart Community Church, who on October 18th, preached one of the most compassionate and courageous sermons I've ever heard, I share the following illustration, which I shared with our residents at My Refuge House today:

Ladies of MRH - it is snack time, so I want to make one of my favorite sandwiches. First you take a piece of freshly baked bread, slice it and spread Elmer's glue on both pieces. Then you take table scraps from lunch, which include fish bones, mongo beans, and rice, all of which were headed to our compost pile, you take it and put it on the bottom slice. You then take a raw egg and put on the pile of trash filling, and then top it off with more glue. Hmmmmm....But before I take a bite, would any of you want a taste....Nobody?...Are you sure? What should I do with this sandwhich?

I think I changed my mind too, but before I throw it away, I forgot one important ingredient. (Pull out $100 American bill and put it in the sandwich). Okay, anyone want the sandwhich now?

(At this point none of the girls are going along with the illustration - they must not want a $100, so I decide to make the following points after pulling out the bill and cleaning it up).

- In Genesis 1:27, the Bible tells us that God made each of us in His own image. Each of us bear some image of God in us.
- In Psalms 139:13-14, the Bible tells us that God knit us together in our mother's womb and that we can praise Him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

So if this is true, why we do we treat some people like trash, garbage, like table scraps. Like this sandwhich, there is something very precious that makes each of us beautiful and valuable. Just remember that you were created in the image of an amazing God who sees you as beautiful despite what other people see or what you see in yourself.

- In I Corinthians 6, the Bible tells us that despite our dirtiness, we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, remember that your Body is not meant for evil and dirty things. But rather, your body is a part of Christ. Would you treat Christ like trash? Of course not, so don't treat your body like it. Your body is where God lives - a temple - and it doesn't belong to you anymore, because you were bought at a price - a valuable price.

No matter what you've done, what you've become, you can always come back home where your Father wants to make you new. Here at My Refuge House, we want to help you sort out what is beautiful amidst all that is painful and broken. And when you find it, you will know how much your Father absolutely loves you.