Have you ever walked down the famous 5th Ave in New York City? It holds New York’s most expensive shopping with the world’s most lavish retail spaces.
I was an impressionable teenager when I experienced the awe and wonder of 5th Ave for the first time. There was no better place to be than the stores of Jimmy Choo, Prada, and Abercrombie and Fitch; especially since they had gorgeous SHIRTLESS male models to take selfies with! A dream for a teenage girl!
I’ve always been passionate about fashion. I can recall the exact moment I realized how ‘hideous’ the outfits were that my mom dressed me in, and as a preschooler, I demanded that she no longer dress me in such rubbish. I was determined from that point on to get myself ready with MY choice of stylish ensembles.
The most memorable store that I visited on 5th Ave was Louis Vuitton. I felt like a second-class citizen walking into the store with a tee shirt and jeans because there were glass cases full of handbags, shoes, and accessories that were worth more than my house! In admiration of the beautiful pieces, I took out my camera to document this moment but was quickly and sternly corrected by a tall man in a black suit. I was offended, embarrassed, and confused as to why I couldn’t take any pictures. After all, couldn’t he see that I was clearly a tourist and that’s what tourists did?
I later learned why they had guards protecting the valuable items within the store. They were protecting the name and designs of Louis Vuitton from frauds and counterfeiters that would try to imitate the original masterpieces and sell them for a lesser price, thus de-valuing the name and designs of the creator, Louis Vuitton.
God is the original creator of you and me. The Bible says in Genesis 1:27 NIV, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.” You are not an insignificant accident that’s evolved from apes. You are unique, valuable, and a precious person that God crafted into a masterpiece with great intentionality.
Psalm 139:13 and 15 TPT affirm this, “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. You even formed every bone in my body when You created me in the secret place, carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something.”
God thought of you even before you were within your mother’s womb, and He hasn’t stopped thinking of you since! The Bible says in Psalm 139:17-18 TPT that every single moment you are on His mind!
“Every single moment You are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that You cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, Your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore!”
The fact that you were born is evidence of God’s passionate love for you! His desire and love for you are as vast as the grains on every seashore. If you were not special, you wouldn’t be on God’s mind; let alone His every thought! Not only did God fashion and design you with intentionality, but He did so in His image with a destiny and purpose. Ephesians 2:10 NLT says,
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
God is the Master and we are one of His pieces made to reflect Him. When you look into a mirror you see a reflection or image of yourself, God created us in His image and in His likeness so that we would reflect Him in the earth through the unique purpose He created us for. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV says that everyone has a purpose,
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Louis Vuitton was a French fashion designer in the 1800s. Transportation was different back then which, on a voyage, made transporting possessions organizationally and logistically a challenge. Louis provided a solution to the voyaging problem by thinking of, designing, and creating flat trunks which allowed the ability to stack on top of one another with ease. He thought up, designed, and created with his own mind, hands, and heart, something that had a unique purpose. Something that is so unique and valuable is worth protecting. That’s why when I walked into Louis Vuitton those expensive handbags, shoes and accessories were within glass cases shielded by highly trained, armed, and alert security to protect what was within.
Just like a fraudulent counterfeiter or thief would try to steal the designs of Louis Vuitton, there is a fraudulent counterfeiter named Satan whose purpose is to devalue, steal, and destroy the name of God and His most valuable creation, you. John 10:10 NIV says,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
Satan doesn’t want us to know our true value as God’s most prized possession because then we would esteem ourselves, protect ourselves from his deceit, and shame His kingdom by empowering others to know their value and transform this world for Christ!
Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV says, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.”
You are described in the Bible as the pearl of great value in Matthew 13:44-46 NIV, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Have you ever wanted something so expensive that it would cause you to empty out your bank account and sell everything you owned just to have it? I would have had to sell everything I owned to purchase one of those handbags from Louis Vuitton! Would it be worth it to exchange everything for a handbag? I guess if you wanted it that badly.
God wanted you with every fiber of His Deity. To God, it was worth it to give everything He had to have you. He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ as John 3:16 NIV says, “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The devil wants you to buy into the scam that many people do on the streets of China Town, New York. Buying into the knock off, poor quality purses that have logos copying designers and are sold cheaply and illegally in back rooms or vans. Don’t present yourself as fabric for the enemy to design deceitfully, destructively, and counterfeitly.
Matthew 7:6 NIV says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Dogs and pigs are ignorant of the value of pearls and if pearls were given to these, they would destroy them. Your identity is immensely valuable and doesn’t even compare to the price of a pearl necklace or Louis Vuitton handbag. In fact, the only way to compare your worth would be to the very blood of God. The sinless, holy, and blameless blood of His Son, Jesus Christ that was poured out and spent to own you. An item’s worth is determined by its designer and you are highly-prized as the most expensive price there ever was, the blood of Jesus, for in it drips the unconditional love of God.
God says to you in Isaiah 43:4 NLT, “Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”
Knowing this will protect you from selling your heart, mind, or body to a ‘dog’ or ‘pig’ because God already sold Himself to have you. You’re as Proverbs 31:10 NIV says, “She is worth far more than rubies.” a
