Seeking Value In Our Image

I don’t remember if it was fourth, fifth, or sixth grade, but somewhere during those 3 years a fad swept through my school (and I imagine the country) that to this day I just don’t understand… parkas. It was nearing summer and kids were wearing these giant winter parkas displaying their favorite football team. Everyone had one except for me (I also didn’t own any Hypercolor or Cross Colours clothes either… but I did own a pair of Reebok Pumps!).

In many ways I didn’t feel like I fit in. Where was my parka? Where were my Jordans (I had XJ900’s from Kmart)? I was set up for failure. How could I fit in? It’s not like we were poor, we simply didn’t buy cool clothes.

Here’s the crazy thing, I was never teased or made fun of because I didn’t have that stuff. Nobody asked me, “Hey Nick, why aren’t you dressed like the rest of us in these cool clothes?” It never happened. And yet, because everyone else had them, I felt like I should. I felt like I was somehow less than, unimportant, left out.

Back then I was searching for value in my image—which is why I never found it. Our value isn’t found in our image, our value is found in God’s love for us. God doesn’t love us because of the things we have, the things we do, or the people we know. God loves us because He wants to, because He values us. It would take me almost 30 years to figure this out… how long will it take you?