Do You Really Matter? (Introduction)

Do You Really Matter? Intoduction

 YES!

Hello, Friends. I ran across an article this morning that I will be sharing with you for the next few days. It was written by Amanda Idleman for Crosswalk Magazine.

She gives her readers 3 reasons why our lives do matter to God. If you are like me, I had struggled with this subject for years of my life. But God doesn't want us to stay in one place or one area of our lives. He wants us to grow up in His Word. Not as the world but in spite of i t. And to do that, we have to have a relationship with Him on a continual basis. I think it may (in my humble opinion) start with understanding that we do matter to Him as well as our daily lives. 

For today, I will just give her introduction to her article, and then each day, share with you her reasons over the next 3 days. Please join me in this important subject.

If you would like to jump ahead and read the whole article, please do so on the Crosswalk website. 

 Please read on:

3 Reasons Your Life Matters to God

Amanda Idleman

Updated Oct 07, 202

Our world can feel mighty big. There are billions of humans with a unique story covering this planet. It's easy to feel that we are insignificant when we compare ourselves to others. Social media has grown this idea that I can't compare myself to others; I'm not good enough, talented enough, rich enough, successful enough, fit enough, a good enough parent, cook, and on the list goes! From a young age, we are inundated with unrealistic images of perfection perpetuating the idea that we should bow out before we even begin because we have nothing unique to offer our world.

This goes entirely against the message of the Gospel, and it is a lie the evil one uses to take us out of the game. Each and every life matters to God. We are all 'fearfully and wonderfully made' as his Word tells us (Psalm 139:14). You are profoundly important not because of what you can do but because of who you are! You are a child of God (John 1:12-13). The world wants us to believe that production equals value, but God's economy is entirely different. God says identity defines our worth; the best news is that, thankfully, as his Creation, our identity is secure!

God calls us to live as a living sacrifice to him (Romans 12:1), which means we don't have to offer him perfection. We just have to make ourselves available to him. Thank God perfection is not a qualifier for him to work! We'd all be doomed, most of all me. My sin haunts me, but God's grace covers me. It's a miraculous cycle that keeps me on my knees, thanking God that he can do great things with what little I have to offer. You matter more than you could ever imagine to your Father God.

Reason One coming tomorrow:

Revelation 18: 13-14

Revelation 18:13–14 lists the “merchandise” of Babylon the Great — from luxury goods to human lives — showing that her wealth was built on exploitation, and that her fall will bring the loss of all these commodities.

Context in Revelation 18

Chapter 18 describes the sudden destruction of “Babylon the Great,” a symbolic global economic and political system. Verses 12–14 catalog the goods and people traded in her economy. This is part of the lament of kings, merchants, and sailors who mourn not because of God’s justice, but because they lose their profits Enduring Word+1.

Verse 13 — The “Merchandise” of Babylon

The list in verse 13 moves from rare luxuries to everyday goods, ending with the most shocking: slaves and “souls of men” jcgmbible.com. It includes:

• Luxury goods: cinnamon, spices, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil — symbols of wealth and indulgence Bible Hub+1.

• Basic staples: fine flour, wheat — showing that even essential food was part of her trade.

• Livestock and transport: cattle, sheep, horses, chariots — representing economic power and mobility.

• Human commodities: slaves and “souls of men” — a direct indictment of exploitation, trafficking, and the dehumanization of people jcgmbible.com.

Commentators note that this is a deliberate echo of Ezekiel 27’s lament for Tyre, signaling the total collapse of a superpower jcgmbible.com. The juxtaposition of flour with human lives highlights the moral blindness of a system that treats both as commodities jcgmbible.com.

Verse 14 — The End of the Trade

Verse 14 says, “No more of these things are to be found in her.” This means the entire economic network — from luxury to basic goods — will vanish. The “merchandise” will be gone, and with it the system that produced and profited from it Enduring Word.

Theological and Moral Meaning

• Indictment of exploitation: The verse condemns any system that profits from the oppression, trafficking, or commodification of people jcgmbible.com.

• Warning against materialism: The merchants’ lament is purely self‑interested, showing how wealth detached from divine morality leads to spiritual emptiness Enduring Word+1.

• Divine judgment: The fall of Babylon is absolute; her economic and moral corruption will be undone in a single hour biblestudyjoy.com.

In short: Revelation 18:13–14 paints a vivid picture of a world economy built on excess and exploitation, and it warns that when such a system falls, all its goods — including the lives of people — will be lost. It is both a prophetic indictment and a call to reject the “merchandise” of the world in favor of the “unsearchable riches of Christ” Bible Hub+1.

Thanks for coming by today, 'Friends. Have a blessed day in our Lord!