Here in my country some years ago there was a news story about a young woman who had had a serious accident which resulted in brain damage to where she was in a vegetative state. There was no hope for recovery. She couldn’t do anything but lie in bed staring. After years of this, her husband wanted to shut off the machines that kept her alive, but her parents fought him in the courts to keep her alive. To him there was no point in keeping her alive, but to her parents she was infinitely valuable and they did everything in their power to save her, not because she could achieve anything, because she couldn’t even eat or care for herself, and I’m not sure she could even breathe on her own, I don’t remember all the details. But to her parents she was precious regardless of what she could achieve, because she was their daughter.

I have 4 children, and I understand that. Sometimes my children fail, sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they win something, sometimes they lose. But their worth to me doesn’t depend on their achievements. I’d give my life for them in a heartbeat, no question, but it’s not because they got an A or they won the race, it’s because they’re my children.

We have a God who created us as His children, and He never says, “and make sure you get an A, and make sure you get first place”. He says “love the Lord with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself”. Christianity teaches that He gave His son to die to pay for our sins because He knew we would fail, and that was the price to redeem us, but we were worth it to Him. Not because we got good grades, but because we are His children.

Every person is valuable, no matter what they achieve or don’t achieve!