The “Handmade” story

“…we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

New parents don’t need to be told how special their bundle of joy is. When they hold that baby for the first time they know that there’s no turning back. Their hearts will forever be etched with a love that runs deeper than life itself.

But to just add a little sprinkling on top of the awe you feel instinctively… Imagine the Nobel Peace Prize winner popped in at your hospital room to welcome your newborn baby in person. I bet you would be posting it far and wide. Because it’s something special, right? Such a significant, important figure, bowing down and taking the time to meet and greet YOUR little one.

So if the King of heaven and earth bowed down to be present at the birth of your baby, well that’s just all-time ultimate! Among all the incredible things Psalm 139 teaches us about God’s personal involvement with our creation it declares that He is part of every single day of our existence, even before the first one arrives.

God is not just PRESENT but He is also PROUD.

I can almost imagine Him holding us up in the spirit realm as newborns, our eyes squinting against the light like Simba in Lion King, while He shows us off to the Kingdom dwellers and thundering above the excited chatter: This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased!

How could it not be true? God calls everything that He made VERY GOOD. And make no mistake about it, He made us ALL by hand.

Whenever something is handmade it carries a certain level of prestige. The maker usually doesn’t let the opportunity pass by to label it as such, so we’ll know that someone invested their time, effort, skill and passion into its creation and so that everyone’s attention will be drawn to its individuality, uniqueness and value.

Same thing with our Maker. The fact that He formed us WITH HIS OWN HANDS is mentioned repeatedly in the Bible. Almost as if He wanted to make sure we understood our value. A baby doesn’t just grow in utero by means of standard factory settings, achieving millions of milestones until it reaches the final conveyor and lands in the “QA” section before being shipped out. No, we are shaped in the womb, like a Potter moulds His work of art. Carefully, skillfully, intentionally and lovingly. God doesn’t just dish out a set of instructions copied over from Adam & Eve’s formula so we can be manufactured at large. Each and every one of us carry the Maker’s fingerprints. He is THAT involved and we are THAT special. Why we even sport our own totally unique set of fingerprints to prove it.

What will you do with the “Handmade” tag your child was born with?

My boys always save the cool tags that come with their clothes. It becomes their keepsakes, gets stuffed into their wallets or ends up as wall decorations, being proudly displayed and sometimes even outliving the garments themselves.

But us grown-ups usually cut the tags straight off and throw it in the bin.

You know, it’s hard to treat the world differently to what we are personally used to being treated. We see everything through that perspective and it’s what we are trained to do. And so love begets love, hurt begets hurt, anger the same. You can substitute any word in that place.

And the sad part is that even though we love our children more than we could imagine, as they grow and lose the magic of their newness, the stress and responsibility of parenting pile up. And without even realising it, we start to impart on them whatever is imprinted on our lives.

Soon we start placing new tags on our kids: Slavery to work, Tech addiction, Pride, Fear, Resentment, Unforgiveness, Aggression, Passivity, Running from our problems. And it becomes their identity as it is ours.

Now, you should understand that in itself this is not a bad thing. In fact, God made it that way, with the intention of imparting good things from generation to generation and specifically, to transfer His blessings onto us. The passing-down effect becomes a problem when the things we impart are our baggage instead of our blessings.

The good news is that it is never too late to use it to your kids’ advantage. It may sound easier said than done, but with God’s help (and your consent), it’s not out of reach. At all. In fact, having a child is the ultimate classroom for parents to learn God’s ways. It kicks off by teaching us how irreversible and ingrained His feelings towards us are, because we get to experience the authentic love of a parent first-hand. It teaches us that an authority figure applies discipline out of love, not spite. That rules are there to protect, educate and refine – not to spoil a child’s fun. Plus, we finally grasp the likelihood of the Cross; that giving your life for someone you love is not something that is bound to happen only in a fairy tale.

I know you don’t need reminding today of how special your newborn is, but perhaps you could use a refresher on how God feels about YOU.

If you go digging through the trash that every life accumulate, there at the very start is a tag you were born with and it says: “Handmade”. Let me translate that word for you personally today. It means Worthwhile, it means Forgiven, it means Able, it means Overcomer. It means that you have and are everything your Father has and is. Just let that sink in for a moment. He is the King of heaven and earth and He wants to share it with you. He wants you to feel like the royal being He made you to be. The Handmade tag means that whatever other tags have been passed onto you by your parents, peers or authority figures – those tags should be binned and your original one restored. These days labels are printed onto the garments themselves and all the really cool brands are not treated coyly – no, they’re splashed all over the show – so there can be no mistake about it, this is a “Guess” shirt!

Today God wants to display his label of value and prestige on your life too. ALL OVER THE SHOW. It might not be the quick-fix we have come to expect from our tech-padded lives, but every success story has to start somewhere. When will yours begin?

Let me do this one as an example:

Father, thank You that I stand before a clean page in my book of life today. Thank you that even with a lifetime’s worth of baggage, I have as much a chance at new life, opportunity and a bright future as a newborn baby. Please teach me how my life manual – Your Bible – works. I feel kind of lost when I try to find my way around its pages, but I’m trusting that You will open my eyes to its liberating truth. I choose today to trade my rags for Your tag, to restore Your identity in and over my life. I’m tired of these hand-me-downs that don’t fit properly and I’m ready to try on the royal robes that You have waiting for me. Show me both the details and the magnitude of that transaction. Go before me on this road of imparting character traits on my child, so I can follow Your example. Impart Your thoughts and feelings towards me onto my heart, so that what I pass on will bring freedom to my offspring instead of chains. Let the truth about who I am in You be in front of my eyes continually – clear as day – so I can position my children on the road to real life. In Jesus’ name, Amen

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You’re welcome to chat to me on info@bread-crumbs.co.za about anything you’ve read here or something that’s nagging you about the topic.