I've been corresponding with one of our members who is struggling spiritually. When asked why she has not been attending regularly, she answered "I don't feel worthy to come to services." I tried to explain that one of God's conditions is that we worship Him, but if we must feel worthy, none of us could do so. In the past, some brethren have occasionally neglected to take the Lord's Supper because they felt "unworthy." Could it be that we might not understand the meaning of "worthy"?

The word "worthy" is defined as "having worth, merit, or value; useful or valuable." How does this apply to us as Christians?

Christ Values Us. "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:25-30) God's Son loved us enough, and thought we were "worthy enough," to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8). We are valuable to Christ.

We Are to Live Worthily. "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." (Ephesians 4:1)

"That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10)

Does this mean that I will live a perfect life, without sin? No; from time to time, we all fall short (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). What it does mean is that I realize that if Christ believed I was worthy enough for Him to die for me, I must want to walk "worthily" to express my gratitude for such consideration. In us, Christ saw what we could become by molding our lives around His teachings. Christians must understand the "worth" of their lives to God.

Agape Love. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37,38) Christians must understand that our "worthiness" is something we must accept about our value to God. Our obedience to God is simply a reaction to the goodness He extended to us (Luke 17:10).

I tried to get my struggling sister to see that Christians must understand that God believed, and demonstrated His belief, that we were worthy of His love, grace, and mercy. The problem arises when we try to understand this "worthiness" when we fail in many ways to live for Him. Yes, God demands that we live for Him, but when we fail, it doesn't mean we become unworthy. May God help us to see ourselves as He sees us!