Am I special to God?

"Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" —Matthew 11:28-29

For those who have grown up in the Christian church, there's a temptation to disregard statements like "Jesus loves you." If you've been hearing that your whole life, it might have lost all meaning or just caused you to wonder, "If He loves everyone, does that make me just another person to Him?" Or even, "If God loves everyone, does God even care about me specifically?"

Those are valid questions, my friend. And let me assure you of this: Only the all-knowing, ever-present God could perfectly love everyone at the same time—uniquely and individually.

Humans Don't Love Like God

"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever." —Psalm 136:26

As humans, we have a limited capacity for how many people we can care for at the same time. We might meet someone and forget about them later. People come and go in our lives, and the select few we care about the most are the only ones we choose to truly, deeply love.

However, God doesn't have the same limitations we do. If anybody can truly and perfectly love all 8 billion people at the same time (billions more, if you count all who have died), it would be the all-knowing, all-loving Creator of the universe.

Yes, there are many other people out there, and yes, God loves all those people too. But that shouldn't diminish or make God's love towards you feel less special. God doesn't only love those He deems as "special" or "significant"—the great evangelists, preachers, or ministry workers. He loves ALL people (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8).

God Loves His Creations

"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." —John 15:13 (NLT)

We are creations of God, uniquely and personally made by Him (Psalm 139:13-16). It's kind of hard to be indifferent to or not take notice of something you created, and, since God made us all, He looks upon us with great joy. And He doesn't just create us once and then forget about us. No, He pays attention to each individual person and their unique lives (Psalm 139).

God sees each person as important and worth saving (2 Peter 3:9; Ephesians 2:8-9). He takes note of us all, loves and cares for us all, and desires a relationship with each person (Psalm 86:15; Romans 2:4).

Even if you feel you get the least attention of anyone you know, or you feel utterly alone, or that nobody cares about you—God does. And that's not just a meaningless statement to shrug off! It's a profound truth that God knows you personally and would die for you (John 15:13).

You're Important to God

"Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" —Matthew 6:26 (NLT)

God loves each of us equally (1 John 2:2) and will truly be there to help us—no matter the size of our struggles (Matthew 6:25-34). God cares for each of us individually, and desires for all of us, wherever we are, to seek Him and come to Him with our problems (1 Peter 5:7).

If you're feeling insignificant because there are other people you feel are "more important" for God to pay attention to, please know that this is not how God works. He can attend to you as well as everyone else simultaneously. His attention is not limited by space or time, and He doesn't play favorites or put people into "worthiness" categories like humans tend to do (1 Samuel 16:7; Romans 2:11).

How can I become a child of God?

"To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." —John 1:12 (NLT)

God chooses to love every person—even if they reject Him (Matthew 5:45). But there are those He calls His "children." These are the people who have chosen to return His love with their own (Galatians 4:6; 1 John 4:19; John 1:12)—those who believe and accept the gospel.

Children of God are inheritors of God's Kingdom—right alongside Jesus (Ephesians 1:11-14; Romans 8:17). But being a child of God isn't just some title to refer to our inheritance or future reality, it's a description of our current reality, spiritual position, and relationship status with our Creator (1 John 3:1).

Our Heavenly Father

In the same way a parent loves their child, desires what's best for them, and does everything they can to care for them, so too does God care for us (John 10:10)—even more so than any earthly parent. Because God isn't confused by sin like our earthly parents are.

Seek God, read through His word, and answer His invitation to have a relationship with Him. Take note when you see God working in your life or answering prayers. When we pay attention, we'll begin to recognize how much in our lives can only be explained by a higher power watching over us.

"I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." —Philippians 1:6

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