You Matter | 1 Chronicles 23
So if I’m honest, while reading 1 Chronicles 23 this week, I initially found myself a bit conflicted while reading all the intricate details of how David divided the roles of the Lord’s Temple…
Perhaps I’m the only one who struggles with this, but oftentimes when I’m reading stuff like this, or when we get into the genealogy sections of a chapter and read sentences like “the descendants of Japheth were…etc.” (Genesis 10:2), I find myself wanting to fast forward and get to “the good stuff”. You know, the parts where I can find some nugget of wisdom or truth to cling to.
And if I’m super transparent, in the past there have been a few times when I actually did skip those parts of the reading… #dontjudgeme
So while reading this chapter, those familiar thoughts started to flood my mind. And I’m not even sure what made me slow down and start questioning “why” I was reading what I was reading, but I found myself asking the following questions: Why do we need to know every little detail about who did what? Why was this so important to include in this book?
I used to think that I needed to read the Bible so that I could figure out how to apply what I was reading to my life. And don’t get me wrong, I do believe it’s important to apply godly wisdom to my life. But I think that only reading the Bible to find some sort of practical application is why I struggled with having to focus on the little details that didn’t seem to matter in regards to whatever situation I was facing at the time.
More recently, however, someone challenged me to try to figure out what God is revealing to me about Himself when I read the Bible.
If the Bible is God’s love letter to me, what characteristic or trait is each passage showing me in regards to who God is?
I wish I’d been told this earlier in my walk with the Lord because that challenge has truly been a game changer for me. Nevertheless, when plagued with those familiar thoughts, I’m reminded of that conversation and able to re-read the chapter through a different lens. I’m hoping that the simple truth that God revealed to me is equally encouraging to you as it was to me…
We all matter to God!
Yes, that was the life-giving revelation that I received. But if you think about it, it’s important that we remember that truth because it is so easy to get caught up in the trap of “comparison”; especially when people’s lives (or what they want to be seen) are so easily accessible via social media. Furthermore, I imagine that, as the different duties were assigned throughout 1 Chronicles chapters 23-26, it would have been easy for the gatekeeper (23:5) to feel “less than” because he wasn’t a priest (24:1-19). But worship could not have taken place without the joint efforts of ALL of the roles that were assigned.
Every role mattered!
Similarly, God created each of us with a unique purpose!
Only you can fulfill your purpose, and only I can fulfill my purpose! Personally, I’ve been blessed with the ability to write, that’s the lane God has carved out for me. But you DO NOT want me to try to hop in a lane that wasn’t intended for me and try to lead worship…EVER!
So my encouragement to you all is this: regardless of whatever role(s) you have in ministry, work, school, home, etc., remember that you are important to God, and what you are doing matters to Him!
“…our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body…/ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:18-1920 27)
By: Tamara McMillan