Have you ever made a mistake? A huge mistake that cost you? I have. Call it stupidity, being naive, or just not paying attention. I’ve done it before. And, man, when I discover what a blunder I made, it hits me at my core.

At other times, its not that I made a bad purchase or did something financially costly, it just that I failed miserably. I did something I said I would never do again, I acted in a way I thought I had overcome long ago, or I hurt my reputation or testimony with my actions. Yep, those things are costly too.

As humans, we have the tendency to take these things hard. We pile up the guilt and condemnation on ourselves until we can hardly bare the weight of it. Along with it comes the depression, the anxiety, the feelings of worthlessness…how could I do this again?!?

It is during these times that we marvel at the fact that Christ would want us.

Us – A broken lot of people who trample His name underfoot, despise His works and words at times, and display a character so unlike His.

Yet, despite all of that, He still calls out to us and desires relationship.

It is in these darkest moments of failure that I come face-to-face with how little I am worth. I am no great treasure. I am far from perfect. I am far from exceptional, far from valuable, far from promising.

At least, that is how I see myself – in my darkest moments of failure when I let Christ down. (Which happens far more than I would like to admit.)

But, what does He think? Does He see me the same?

No. And this is where our exquisite joy and peace come from. He knows all my failures, short-comings, inconsistencies, and poor behaviors and yet still loves me. In fact, He gave His valuable life, His perfect life, His sinless, uncorrupted, untarnished life for me. He paid for my failures. He forgave my sinful ways. And he offers me continuous grace and mercy.

So, as I see myself at times of having little worth, He sees me as worthy of His very life. And that, my friend, is everything.