Love Changes Everything By Micah BerteauSample

Day Six

Gold has great value. I mean real gold, of course, not the fake, knockoff watches and jewelry you can buy from some random guy on a sidewalk. Yes, I fell for that a long time ago. However, I quickly learned that fake gold will turn your skin green if you wear it for very long. It has the appearance of real gold but no sustaining worth. You may fool people, but you know that this imitation does not have the same value as real gold. 

The Bible tells us that when gold goes through fire, the fire does not destroy it but refines it and reveals its true worth. These trials will show that your faith is genuine, just as they showed that Job’s faith was pure. When your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. God is challenging our value system and showing us that we must build our worth on the foundation of faith—not fleeting possessions or shallow pleasures, but the unshakable ground that is the Rock, Jesus Christ. 

When you know you are loved, you won’t settle for the fake version of love. Lust never satisfies, and living loved allows you to walk away from the facade of lust. Jesus spread his arms on the cross to show you your value. God gave his only Son to show you your worth. Value is not birthed from what you do but the position you are in. Your position as a son or daughter of God is your worth. 

You are so loved. That is your meaning in life. You are supremely cared about by God, and he knows your name. You can cling to that when you feel forgotten. When you know your value, you walk and talk differently. You no longer hang around with the same people or in the same places. Your value is not measured by an accolade or achievement; it rests on the firm foundation of Jesus.

There is nothing you did to make God start loving you, and there is nothing you can do to make him stop loving you. That is your value. Your life is worth so much—now live like you know that. 

In what ways are you settling for a fake version of love in your life?