Read: Matthew 6:25-34

We are important because God loves us.

因上帝爱我们，使我们弥足珍贵。

Your heavenly Father feeds [the birds of the air]. Are you not much more valuable than they?   ----Matthew 6:26

你们看那天上的飞鸟……你们的天父尚且养活它。你们不比飞鸟贵重得多吗？-马太福音6章26节

Years ago I had an office in Boston that looked out on the Granary Burying Ground where many prominent American heroes are buried. There one can find the grave stones for John Hancock and Samuel Adams, two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and just a few feet beyond that is Paul Revere’s marker.

多年前，我的办公室位于波士顿，在那里可以眺望安葬诸多美国民族英雄的「谷仓墓园」。墓园里可以找到签署美国独立宣言的约翰·汉考克和山缪·亚当斯的墓碑，而爱国志士保罗·列维尔的墓碑也竖立在几呎之外。

But no one really knows where in this burial ground each body is buried because the stones have been moved many times—sometimes to make the grounds more picturesque and other times so lawn mowers could fit between them. And while the Granary features approximately 2,300 markers, closer to 5,000 people are buried there! Even in death, it seems, some people are not fully known.

不过，每具遗体确实的埋葬位置因年代久远早已不可考。多年以来，有时为了美化墓园，有时为了腾出空间让除草机通过，人们曾多次挪动墓碑。此外，这座墓园只有约两千三百座墓碑，却有将近五千人长眠于此！看来，有些人甚至在死后仍鲜为人知。

There may be times when we feel as if we are like those unmarked residents of the Granary, unknown and unseen. Loneliness can make us feel unseen by others—and maybe even by God. But we must remind ourselves that even though we may feel forgotten by our Creator God, we are not. God not only made us in His image(Gen. 1:26-27), but He also values each of us individually and sent His Son to save us (John 3:16).

也许，有时我们也会觉得自己像那些葬在墓园里，却没有墓碑的无名氏一般，没有人认识，也没有人看见。孤单会让我们感到好像被上帝或周遭的人忽视。但我们必须时时提醒自己，即使我们有被创造主遗忘的感觉，但事实绝非如此。上帝不仅以祂的形象创造我们（创世记1章26-27节），祂更看每一个人为宝贵，且差派祂的爱子拯救我们（约翰福音3章16节）。

Even in our darkest hours, we can rest in the knowledge we are never alone, for our loving God is with us.

在最黑暗的时刻，我们的心仍能得安宁，因慈爱的上帝与我们同在，我们永不孤单。

Prayer 祷告：

Thank You, Lord, that You never leave me alone and that You know all about me. Make me aware of Your presence so I may share that comfort with others who are feeling alone too.

主啊，我感谢祢，因祢总不撇下我且全然了解我。求祢使我知道祢必同在，好让我能安慰那些同感孤单的人。