Welcome to FACETS, friend. Take a look around in February, and you’ll see we’re at play and doing things a little differently. We are leaning into a “Did you know you are…” set, and we hope you’ll enjoy it. Each Facet is writing from her heart. Take a peek at Tracy’s post that reminds us that we are cherished. You are honored, beloved, and celebrated, too.

Do you know you are…honored?

I (Jennifer) have a unique moment in front of me. The question floats through my mind, to my heart, and back. If we could sit together over a cuppa right now at my caffeinated hidey hole, I’d relish it! We might chat about Chicago’s unpredictable weather, move on to the extraordinary in the very ordinary of our lives—and then something deeper could happen. The question would hang in the air: Do you know you are honored?

I imagine the two of us exploring truth. Are we honored? What does He say? Are we comfortable even speaking the words out loud? I am honored? We do a funny dance around words like that.

Yes? No? Maybe so?

The Christian faith is, first, biblical! And yet, a Moody Founder’s Week speaker reminded me last week, “Some of the worst advice comes from within the church.” What is genuinely true? Do I have “fire insurance” from a prayer I once prayed? If I am saved from my sins, am I saved to something? Am I a sinner halfway dragged from the gutter until heaven? Am I a royal daughter of the King of the universe who has authority over all things and receives a big, ol’ YES! from the heavens in response to every prayer?

I’ve asked all of these questions at some point in over twenty-five years, and the majority of questions like them have been settled in my mind through time reading the Bible, praying to understand the words, and having deep conversations with trusted friends. If you’re still encountering these questions, I want to encourage you—you have the opportunity to silence the slippery tongue that’s trying to confuse you. None of us needs to stay in the place of confused identity when it comes to our relationship with Daddy-God. He will tell us who we are!

Honored? I’m not worthy!

Let’s face it, honored is a big, fat, heavy word for some of us. Can we honor anyone but Jesus? How can I possibly be honored if He is the one worthy of honor and praise:

They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing! Revelation 5:12 CSB

The truth is plain. He. Is. Worthy!

Honor shared…

But what about li’l, old you and me? What does the Bible say about our honor?

Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:12 ESV [Emphasis mine.]

When I read that, I feel all the emotions. How about you? There is honor in living honorably. We honor Jesus with our lives; He is honored, and we share in His honor. The honor is not our own, and that’s as it should be!

Honor given…

You know I was searching for “real food” in the Bible, right? I looked at all the appearances of honor because I needed to know I was, for sure, reading what He had to say about our honor without the sauce of pride dripping all over it. This practically leapt off the page:

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. James 1:9 ESV

I live in a time (in church history) and place (in the world) that is so rich, many of us have forgotten what it means to be genuinely poor. We have a cultural conversation about “the working poor,” American poverty levels, and the wars on all the things. We talk about the difficulty of being a believer in a culture that rejects truth and substitutes it with their own. It’s a shame we can’t talk about God in the workplace or the neighborhood. What would people say?

Let’s get perspective: generations all over the world, places where professing Christianity is a death sentence, hope for the next morsel, the next pittance-paying job, a wedding to reduce the number of mouths to feed, or an orphanage to give a child a better life.

I don’t know this kind of “poor.” It exists, though. What will I do about that? What will we do?

The poor are honored by God because He loves them, because of the frailty of their lives, and because no one else honors them. Our God is loving like that. And we should be the church. We should live a life that honors them and shares in the honor of Christ who loves and honors like that! We give the honor to them because He does.

Sometimes I must write to myself in these posts: Jen, it’s not all about you.

You are…

Our God is loving! That’s what I love so much about Him—He calls every one of us into deep relationship while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8), and He shares His honor with us when we hide our lives in His and live honorably by His power. By extension of our authentic, godly life with Him, we give honor to the weakest—the ones with no voice or wealth or noticeable honor in this world. We are the church when we do that. That’s our calling.

And then there’s this:

…you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:4 ESV

In His goodness and grace, there’s that. The context of that verse up there offers clarity about God’s preferential treatment toward His beloved (that’s us!). You and I are precious to Him. We are the “loved ones” who bring the light! He desires to draw us close; transform our hearts, minds, and lives; and work in and through us in this dark world.

Jesus’ sacrifice on a rough-hewn cross communicates something deep: He chose to come for us, each of us is loved and honored by His choice, and we share in His honor.

I feel this is how this post wraps up. I pray this for us!

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV

It’s an honor that you visit this space. Thank you! If you think this can be a blessing for someone else, share it. What I’d really, really love? Start a conversation here, at the Facebook Page, or on your own Facebook (if you’re bold).