Millionaires

The amounts of money stipulated in NBA basketball players' contracts would make you dizzy to contemplate.

Many first-draft choices are paid more than eight million dollars a year. MICHAEL JORDAN's contract was for well over ten million dollars a year, including endorsements.

Many seasons ago MAGIC JOHNSON signed a 23 million dollar contract, and today it's normal for a top player to sign for over 70 million dollars over several seasons. I wonder, how many millions am I worth?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? We have probably all dreamed of being millionaire athletes. Maybe nobody's ever told you how valuable you are. Your value can't be measured in mere millions.

Tonight, before going to bed, look at the stars (weather permitting). They're yours. That's right! They belong to God, and he is your Father.

The Bible says: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to became children of God." (John 1:12) "Now if we are children, then we are heirs." (Romans 8:17)

Do you realise you are going to inherit the Universe?

God doesn't want us to have poor self-esteem. It's true that humility is the best quality of a Christian, but that does not mean thinking of ourselves as worthless.

Humility means depending on God alone in every situation, always being ready to learn from him. It also means acknowledging that God made each of us unique, and that to him we are very valuable indeed.

He is our God. We have no right to believe that he made a mistake in our case. We have no right to think: "If only I had been born somewhere else, to another family, in a different situation..."

God has put us here at this time, because he admires what we are and what we can become. You can honestly say that God rejoices in you and enjoys your presence, just as a father or mother enjoys each of their children.

If you are a child of God, enjoy what you are! You carry in yourself the image of your Father. He is your God, the Master of the Universe! He will make you smile again; you are immensely valuable to him.