John 3:16 (King James Version)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
What would it take to change someone's poor self-image?
From loser to winner? From worthless nobody to valuable somebody? It's hard to
say.
USA Today carried a brief note on Sept. 25, 1997, about a
marvellous rescue of a child. A homeless man in New York City saved the life of
a two-year-old boy whose house was on fire. The man talked Sonya Lopez into
throwing her son down to him when the mother and her child were trapped in
their burning house. He caught the 27-pound boy and then helped Sonya get out.
The baby was uninjured, and his mother was treated for smoke inhalation and
released. They are fine.
The hero that day was 45-year-old John Byrnes. He has
been homeless for two years. He is an alcoholic. In his own words, he is a
"drunken bum."
Maybe Mr. Byrnes needs to look at himself through the
eyes of Sonya Lopez.
Do you think he's just a drunken bum to her? Not on your
life. He's a certified hero. He saved her son's life — and hers. Yet this is
the best he could say for himself afterward: "Drunk as I am, I knew what
to do right then and there."
People do heroic things because they are created in the
image and likeness of God. Like a coin whose image has been defaced, any one of
us may mar the likeness to God in his or her character. Alcoholism or a dozen
other things that quickly come to mind can convince us how unworthy we are. We
hear others attach labels to us. Worse still, we accept those labels — stupid,
drunken bum, cheat, liar, con.
My theory is that the day he saved the lives of a baby
and his mother should have changed John Byrnes' self-image. But how long has he
been told he is worthless? How many times has he been called a bum because he
is homeless and dirty? And what has his alcoholism cost him in terms of the
view he has of himself?
Perhaps the only way to reverse (or avoid) a terrible
self-image is to have people who really care about you to remind constantly of
your worth in their eyes. Parents, hear this about your children. Mates, hear
it about your spouses. Hear it about anyone whose welfare and happiness you
value.
God's strategy across the centuries has been to remind
you of your worth in his eyes. If you missed it in his words, he said it one
last time in giving his Son for you. No matter the label someone has stuck on
you, heaven says you're worth dying for.
Dear Lord We thank You for thinking we are worth dying
for. We Pray that we would always remember that each of us is special. In Jesus’
name, Amen.
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