Precious In His Sight

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When I was a little girl in Sunday school in Ashland City, Tennessee, my teachers planted the words to the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children” in my heart. Many consider the words I learned then as racist, so I appreciated when a blog reader sent me this modern version.

I’m the little girl on the right when I was a flower girl in my uncle’s wedding.

As a little child, that song taught me about the equality of all the children of the world. When I became a mama, I planted the song in the hearts of our children.

I’ve been thinking lately about how we are all precious in His sight, not only the little children but all of us. Jesus’ commands that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves, have powerful practical uses. Combined with the message of John 3:16 that God loved the world so much He sent His Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life, those commands teach us to treat every other person as someone precious, every day, all the time.

My friend Susan amazes me. She is an only child. She and her husband have not been blessed with children. She lovingly and enthusiastically taught in special education for many years because she really loves those kids.

Susan and I both enjoyed holding baby goats when we went on a hometown outing recently.

Susan is one of the most devoted daughters I have known. During the several years that we have been friends, she has served her mother in countless ways. After her then 89-year-old mother broke first one hip and a few days later the other hip last fall, Miss Frances had to move into the local nursing home.

Susan visits her there every day, staying for about three hours. She arrives in the afternoon and remains through the dinner hour before going home to her husband for her own dinner. She attends the special activities there, such as Valentine parties and Sunday afternoon church services with her mom.

Since Susan is there anyway, she has become an official volunteer at the facility. Susan and I touch base often by text and phone. As we chatted about our day recently, she told me that she had been at the nursing home that day for the butter bean auction. At the auction, residents receive 20 butter beans, which they can use to bid on nice items. When Susan began volunteering, the residents participated in the auction once a month. Because the residents enjoy it so much, Susan asked if she could be an auction sponsor so that the residents could enjoy it twice a month. They had enjoyed their first auction sponsored by Susan that day. Before that day, she had purchased items from her own funds and also from some donations she had received from friends.

Susan loves God; and she treats others, including her mom’s nursing home neighbors, the way that God sees them. She treats them as precious in His sight.

I believe that we all long to be precious in the sight of other people, even those of us who know that we are precious to God. I believe that God made us that way. When we treat others as precious, they aren’t the only ones who receive a blessing. We receive one, too, because God also made us to be loving and kind.

For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand
so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

We know that others are precious in God’s sight because of what Jesus did for them—and for us, for our children, and for theirs. He proved that we are all “precious in His sight.”

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,
but with humility of mind
regard one another as more important than yourselves; 
do not merely look out for your own personal interests,
but also for the interests of others. 
Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus, 
who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8

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