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My meditation is on Psalm 139:13-14, and in the truth that God has called each of us by name:
It was you who created my internal organs, fashioning me within my mother’s womb. I praise you, for you made me with fear and wonder; Marvelous are your works, and you know me completely.
This is a consistent, unchanging reminder that God formed me and claimed me, and I need not justify that birthright. The same goes for you. God formed you. God claimed you. This requires no authorization, proof or justification. You are a child of God. It is true. It is your blessing, the light of Christ reflected through you.
Do I fret too much over the swirling mass of things other people say, of worries that others won’t listen to me, of my fears of failing? Perhaps. But one thing’s for sure: I cannot continue to focus on those things and live up to my birthright. So I strive to do the latter, and answer God’s call.
This message is excerpted from “What makes us worthy?” by Karris Golden in the January/February 2023 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865.