If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Would you like to be able to run as fast as the wind? To be invisible? To be able read peoples’ minds? I thought the best answer would be to be able to fly. Until I heard one of our youth ministers give this answer: “To be have a magic touch, that when I touched someone they would know their worth, their value.” Ingenious! This indeed is the gift we all need—to truly feel and know our worth as sons and daughters of God, to see ourselves as God sees us.
Jesus says today, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” What does it mean to remain in Jesus? I believe at its heart it means to believe in our goodness, to believe—truly, with every fiber of our being—that we are made in the image and likeness of God. Once we can do this, we will know our worth, our value, and we will be rooted in the truth. And then from the place of truth we will be able to give out of the love we feel in our hearts.
Pause and take a moment to realize your uniqueness. There is no one else in the world like you. God had an idea, and it was YOU! He created you, formed you in your mother’s womb. He made you wonderful, beautiful. A creature to behold. Root yourself in this truth, be connected to the vine. Remain connected to that truth. If we do this we will go forth and bear much fruit.