Christian Reflection and Prayer

“Take a census of the whole Israelite community
by their clans and families, listing every man by name,
one by one.”—Numbers 1:2

God counts the children of Israel. Of course, He already
knew how many there were, but He wanted them to
know that each one mattered and that each one counted.
If someone was missing, God would notice and God
would care.

It’s like that with us today as well. There are more than
seven billion people in the world today. There are more
than a billion people in China alone! With all the people
sharing this planet with us, it’s easy to think that God
doesn’t notice us. We could make the mistake thinking
that we don’t matter much or that we aren’t loved very
much.

But nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn’t
matter if we are the only human being on Earth or if we
are one in ten billion, or a billion billion – to God we are
like an only child. He loves us and cares for us just as
He would if we were the only one. Not a single one of
us is dispensable and each of us is so very precious
to God.

God sees us as invaluable; it’s time for us to see
ourselves – and each other – that way also.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein