They Matter by Terry Stead

“Love your neighbor as yourself”  Matthew 22:39

There is a beautiful young singer/songwriter, Georgia Germein, who lives in my home state of South Australia and she has helped with development projects in Ethiopia and the Kalahari and one of the songs that she wrote when she returned from one of her journeys was “They Matter”:

…No matter who, they matter
No matter when, they matter
No matter where, they matter
They matter, they do
No matter how, they matter
No matter why, they matter
No matter what, they matter
They matter, they do.

When I first hear these words they had a profound effect on me.   I have always tried to be compassionate, loving and giving just as Christ has taught us, but when I see images on television of starving children in other parts of the world and read newspapers which detail civilians caught in the crossfire of war etc., I sometimes feel detached from the horror and block out these images.

Two simple words “they matter” and how much difference these words would make to so many people in a world where often there is little hope?  How much more did we matter to God that He gave his only beloved son to die on the cross just for us?  Our lives are forever changed because of this incredible act of His.  It is up to us to show everyone that they matter and in doing so we change people’s lives by showing them God’s love and making sure that they know how much more they matter to the One who loves, gives us strength and sustains us through all our trials and persecution.
When you next see an image or read a newspaper report on the plight of people around you and in other parts of the world remember “They Matter”.