LifeDate Winter 2025 – Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
by Rev. Dr. Aric Fenske
David uses an interesting illustration to describe his creation by the hands of God. He paints the picture of God knitting him together in his mother’s womb as a skilled artisan would knit together a beautiful piece of clothing or a colorful tapestry. When I hear these words, I can’t help but think of my grandmother, carefully and painstakingly knitting one of the blankets that were scattered throughout my childhood home.
As a young boy, I didn’t fully appreciate just how special those blankets were. But now that I am older, and my grandmother is with Jesus, I understand what a treasure those blankets are. Handmade items usually are a treasure. And not because they cost more to produce. In fact, homemade items are usually cheaper than store bought items. The value of a handmade item comes from the one who made it. Hours of carefully planning and then creating a homemade project reveals not only the skill of the maker but also the love that was needed to see the project through. My grandmother would not have spent hours and hours making those blankets for us if she didn’t love us dearly. Those blankets aren’t simply a memento—they are a lasting snapshot of her talent and her love for us. And that is why we treasure them.
So it is with every single human being. Every person has been carefully knit together by God in their mother’s womb, each with our own unique traits and personalities. And even though sin has corrupted every one of us, we can still see within every person a living revelation of the love and wisdom and skill of our God, who has fearfully and wonderfully made each and every person.
It is this loving and careful knitting together that imbues us all with an inherent value beyond our description. That value does not come from something inside of us, as if we were nothing more than the sum of our parts. No, our value comes from the One who loved us enough to make a plan for each one of us (down to the number of hairs on our heads; see Matthew 10:30), long before He uttered the first, “Let there be” (Revelation 13:8).
God treasures each person from the moment He begins to knit them together, if not even long before. And so should we. From fertilization to forever, and at every stage in between, regardless of nation or race, size or ability, each person is a treasure worthy of our love, compassion, and protection.
I pray that the articles in this issue motivate and equip you to see every neighbor as the treasure they are.