One worthy gift

God there are days when we gather for worship in this community when it's easy to acknowledge your beauty but nearly impossible to find any within ourselves.

We come to you broken in so many ways. The weight of wrong choices or difficult circumstances, the burden of wrecked relationships or dwindling resources -- sometimes these things make it hard for us to find value and worth within ourselves.

And yet you see beauty within us, Lord.

You have seen us for who we are and loved us in spite of it all, and in this we find so much hope.

We pray today that we might claim that which you love within us, and relentlessly seek out things to love within others. May we see through brokenness and frailty and circumstance and struggle to know others as creatures made in your image, for your love.

May our lives reflect this one beautiful and worthy gift: that we love others as we are being loved by you.