Master craftsmen have signed, stamped, and stitched their marks on their work for years, ensuring their value. Michelangelo’s signature traverses Mary’s sash of his Pieta. Leonardo da Vinci used intertwining knots as his signature (Check Mona Lisa’s bodice.). 

And God? He placed His imprint on you, His masterpiece. 

The mark of a master determines the value of a piece. It denotes the work as having a particular level of quality and craftsmanship. 

What does this mean for you? Everything. Because the mark of the Master not only gives evidence to the value He places on life, but it also testifies to the worth He ascribes to you personally.

1. You were commissioned. Chosen. With purpose and intention.

“For he [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4 NIV

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16

2. You were created. Designed. Engineered. By your Creator.

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

3. You are crafted. Not mass produced. Not assembled like an IKEA bookshelf. Uniquely made. 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

4. You were marked. Stamped. Signed. Sealed. The Imago Dei, the very image of God.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13

Your worth has forever been determined by your Maker. Your value? Priceless. 

Questions and Activities: 

1. How does the world determine worth? 

2. How do you determine worth? 

3. How does God determine worth? 

4. Compare what God values with what the world values. 

Which changes? 

Which stands for eternity?

5. Go shopping. What value is given to items and how is that determined? How does that change from furniture to clothes to groceries? How about people?

6. How will this knowledge affect your self-talk?