We live in a culture that is obsessed with appearances. The pressure to project an attractive image that measures up to celebrity standards can be especially oppressive to today’s youth. Is the measure of a person’s worth equal to the number of friends he or she has on Facebook? the numbers of “likes” his or her posts can get? the number of hits he or she can boast on Instagram? Does our self-worth depend upon the approval of others? Our faith answers these questions with a resounding, “No!”
This is why I love our scripture lesson for this week, one in which I think Jesus longs to liberate us from that kind of pressure. Repeatedly, he speaks of “your Father who sees in secret,” who knows our hearts, who loves us not for how much we weigh, the clothes we wear, the number of fans we have, or the image we project. There is not a person on the planet who does not long for this kind of unconditional, unfailing love.
That’s a piece of the Good News I’d like to share with you.
Recorded August 11, 2024 at Algiers United Methodist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rev. Callie Winn Crawford
