These cufflinks were a wedding anniversary gift to me from my wonderful wife, Sally: 25 years!!!

You may be able to see that they are made from the internal workings of vintage watches. The watches no longer tick, but you can see cogs, wheels and other tiny gubbins (a technical term).

I think they are great. I like them because they have some history to them even though they have only just started their new life as cufflinks.

I like them because I think they look rather unusual.

I like them because they remind me of the time I have spent in my life married to Sally (over half my life now!).

But most of all I like them because of who gave them to me. It is that which gives them value. To me they are priceless because they are a gift from Sally.

It’s interesting how we humans do that: we invest objects with ‘sentimental value’ that far exceeds the actual value of those objects. I wonder if you watch ‘Antiques Roadshow’ with the same sense of schadenfreude as the rest of us? A person brings in something that has been passed down through the generations and which they clearly hold very dear, and it is valued at far less than they thought. There is a stoical look on their face as they try to mask the disappointment and then we hear, “Well I would never sell it anyway as it means too much to me.” If it was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds would they feel the same way?

Yesterday’s bloggage was about how we are children of God – we don’t just have a new name we actually have a new identity when we choose to become followers of Jesus.

Do you ever feel inadequate? Do you ever feel a failure? Do you ever feel that you are not good enough for God? Do you ever feel worthless?

Do you think God sees you the same way? It all began with him creating you – designing you from scratch – and him loving you unconditionally. And just as my cufflinks have been given a new lease of life (rather than being a broken old watch) we receive a new life, a new identity. When God looks at you, because you were bought for him by Jesus (to use a Bible metaphor that tries to explain what happened when he died on the cross), he sees you as priceless.

Be blessed, be a blessing