One of the most important things I have learned as a Christian, is humans are important to God.
Who we are is important to God. The story of the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is a story of God’s love being with us, of death defeated and of liberation. When the Psalmist wrote you knit me together in my mother’s womb, they were referring to a God who doesn’t drop a stitch. Life may be fleeting or long, but each life is precious to God, hidden with God, and ultimately finds its fullness in the eternal life of all who trust in God.
So when humanity in general, and humans in particular, struggle with understanding identity, I reflect that God knows us by name and we matter.
The same doesn’t seem to be true for the way humans relate to each other. We seem to be too tribal; loving those who are like us, and marginalising those who are not. Jesus called us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, and gave the example of two people from different ‘tribes’ as a the neighbours he was talking about.
I’m a white, University educated, heterosexual Englishman; but I don’t believe God holds that against me, despite the patriarchal post-empire privilege it comes with. I hope that by using my position of authority and privilege to support those who are oppressed, I may be more closely aligned with the sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated, rather than the self-centred love that evil tempts us to.
So to all those who are oppressed: God loves you. As you work out your identity: God loves you. As you throw off the expectations of worldly people: God loves you. Your life matters.
