Apple of His Eye

I would like to begin by sharing a little bit of my story.  I grew up in a small farm town. I have a twin sister and we were raised in a home with parents that loved and supported us.  I was on the varsity volleyball team, found a fun job, and had a lot of friends.  I later went on to college and was headed toward a great career.
From the outside I had the perfect life; but on the inside I was lost.  I felt like something was missing and I didn't like who I had become.  By the grace of God, I transferred to a Christian college in Indiana.  It was there that I found Jesus.  It was there that I found my worth.  I began to see myself through God's eyes for the first time.

Have you ever thought about how God sees you?

Do you struggle to understand your identity in Christ?
I have been in those shoes. But God, full of love and compassion, makes it very clear how He looks at us.

Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure."
What Paul is saying in this verse is that long before your birth, before the flood, before the fall, before the creation of the earth, God knew you. He sees past your weaknesses and instead sees you as holy!  Can you even fathom that?!  His love surpasses our understanding, yet to demonstrate His amazing love, He sent His Son to redeem us and justify us on the cross. 
Paul also says that we are adopted into His family.  That word creates such a stunning picture in my mind.  We were once orphans, lost and alone, wandering through the dark, dead-end streets of our lives.  But then, we were hand-chosen to be sons and daughters of The King!

For further confirmation of your identity, check out Genesis 1:27.  "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
Did you catch that?  Here it is again: God created you in his image.  He gave you eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to perform miracles, and feet to take you to the ends of the earth. 
And think of the complexity of your body. Your heart beats over 103,000 times each day.  Meanwhile, your lungs are inhaling over 388 cubic feet of air daily to oxygenate your blood and feed your trillions of cells to keep your body functioning.
You are a reflection of God and His mighty power.

I love Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do all the good things he planned for us long ago."
Isn't this a beautiful encouragement?  God created all things, heaven and earth, the sun, moon and stars, creatures small and great.  Yet when He made us he called us His Masterpiece. Not only that, as if that isn't amazing enough, He also has a plan for our lives!  We don't have to worry about tomorrow, or the next day, because He cares for His children. We need only to be obedient. He loves us enough to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

These are just a few scriptures to remind you of who you are.  You are created in the image of God.  Adopted as sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe.  You have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. God loves you and cares for you.  You are holy and blameless and created for a purpose.  In other words, you are the apple of His eye.
I don't know about you but seeing that is pretty overwhelming!

I'll leave you with this:
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that very well." Psalm 139:14