The Unwanted Picture

Revelation 1:5-6 (NIV)
To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father - to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

I was browsing through a second hand store for books when a picture, if one could call it that, caught my eye.

This picture had made its way through several stores without selling and was literally covered with price stickers, residue from partially pealed off price stickers and prices written on the glass in permanent marker. Each price added was lower than the one before.

I could make out something of a landscape peeking out from behind the layers of tags and residue and decided that the picture might be worth the effort it would take to clean it.

I looked for the lowest price tag and purchased it from the store owner at that price.
He didn't even bother to try to sell it for more. Frankly, I think he was relieved to be able to sell it at any price.

I took the picture home.

That afternoon, armed with a bottle of cleaning fluid and a new package of razor blades, I set to work removing the layers of paper, ink, gunk and glue.

It did not take long for me to determine that a great deal of work would be required. I began to wonder just how much of a "bargain" I had gotten.

I worked slowly and methodically through the afternoon and into the evening.

As I slowly removed the layers of its past, a truly beautiful picture began to emerge.

I removed the final sticker.

My fingers were sore but my eyes did not care, for they beheld a beautiful landscape.

Colorful flowers lined a wooded path beside a serene lake with trees peeking through the mist beyond.

I remember considering hanging the picture in my living room as I worked.

Upon completion, I decided to hang it in my bedroom instead.

I do not regret that decision, because I love seeing it each morning when I awake.

In a way, our lives can be compared to that picture I found in that second hand store.

Sometimes, we feel unwanted.

Sometimes, we feel our worth ebbing away as time goes by.

Sometimes, we allow others to devalue us.

How wrong we are.

Our Heavenly Father never sees any of us that way.

Through the blood of Jesus, we are cleansed of all layers of neglect, doubt and the stain of sin.

hen, as new creations, we can see in ourselves what He has seen all along.

Someone created in His image.

Someone fearfully and wonderfully made.

Someone designed to reflect the light of Jesus to a world in need.

Even when others give up on us, God never does.
The Other Brother Jim

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Coping