our worth to god

¹³For you have possessed my temperament. You have supported me from the womb of my mother. ¹⁴I will confess to you, for you have been magnified terribly. Your works are miraculous, as my soul knows exceedingly well. ¹⁵My bone, which you have made in secret, has not been hidden from you, and my substance is in accord with the lower parts of the earth. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my imperfection, and all this shall be written in your book. Days will be formed, and no one shall be in them.

⁸But God demonstrates his love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, at the proper time,

²⁵And so I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Consider the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much greater value than they are? ²⁷And which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature? ²⁸And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work nor weave. ²⁹But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these. ³⁰So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and cast into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he care for you, O little in faith?

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think over you, says the Lord: thoughts of peace and not of affliction, so that I may give you patience and an end.

⁴Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life.

³¹Therefore, do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

⁴Yet still, God, who is rich in mercy, for the sake of his exceedingly great charity with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our sins, has enlivened us together in Christ, by whose grace you have been saved. ⁶And he has raised us up together, and he has caused us to sit down together in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that he may display, in the ages soon to arrive, the abundant wealth of his grace, by his goodness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God. ⁹And this is not of works, so that no one may glory.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.

⁹And he said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you. For virtue is perfected in weakness.” And so, willingly shall I glory in my weaknesses, so that the virtue of Christ may live within me.

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? And yet not one of these is forgotten in the sight of God. ⁷But even the very hairs of your head have all been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

²⁰I live; yet now, it is not I, but truly Christ, who lives in me. And though I live now in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and who delivered himself for me.

⁴But then the kindness and humanity of God our Savior appeared. ⁵And he saved us, not by works of justice that we had done, but, in accord with his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and by the renovation of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he has poured out upon us in abundance, through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

²⁸And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those who, in accordance with his purpose, are called to be saints.

¹⁶Therefore, let us go forth with confidence toward the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy, and find grace, in a helpful time.

⁷And the Lord said to Samuel: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature. For I have rejected him. Neither do I judge by the appearance of a man. For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart.”

¹⁴I will confess to you, for you have been magnified terribly. Your works are miraculous, as my soul knows exceedingly well.