I am, I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair
“I Am…I Said”
– Neil Diamond
A television channel used to promote its series with clever edits spotlighting some of its more quirky characters.
The teaser ended with this invitation: “Characters are welcome here.”
In our society, being a character is the newest way to get attention. Talk shows, movies, and magazines love to drag out the latest fads in being different. Fashions and behavior get more and more outrageous as it gets harder to find a way to be different enough to get noticed.
It is all about getting noticed, isn’t it? Fame equals validation. Fame means we’re important to someone, however brief the time.
There’s nothing worse than living our entire lives under the radar, feeling that if our lives ended tomorrow, no one would notice. There’s this deep need inside us to have our work, our struggles, and our dreams seen by someone, even if it’s only because we’re the newest characters on the block for the season.
The need to be noticed and validated is deep and real and even godly.
We all know instinctively that we were made for more than mere existence. The soul in each of us cries out to be noticed, accepted, and loved for who we are. We desperately need someone to hear us.
We may not know it, but there is someone who is listening. That person is the God who knew us before we were even born.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you.
– Jeremiah 1:5
On those days when the heavens seem closed to our most frantic prayers, He is not only listening, He is actively involved in our lives.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
– Psalm 139:17-18
Who knows us that well? Who thinks about us that much? Do we need any more evidence that He cares about us and hears us? What other love could be this deep and true?
It’s not really about capturing the attention of men. It’s about finding our God. It is in Him that we have validation, love, forgiveness, and purpose. We don’t need a spotlight when we have the eye of the King. Living in His light is more than enough.
