Wonderful Kidney Beings

Did you know that God made your kidneys?!

It's true. His Word says so specifically.

"For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."
-Psalm 139:13-14

So many of us are so fond of Psalm 139. And it's no wonder. It tells us that God knows everything about us. He always knows where we are. Neither distance nor darkness can hide us from Him. Oh, and He made us wonderfully. God is crazy about us! And it begins in our kidneys.

Apparently the literal Hebrew translation of "inmost being" is kidneys. In Hebrew "kidneys" is an idiom for "the innermost center of emotions and of moral sensitivity" (NIV Study Bible, notes on v. 13), just like "heart" is for us. That would make for some interesting love songs...(See Mark Lowry for more on this point.) God not only knew our shape, our form, our size, and our gender, but He knew who we would be. He made us that way on purpose!

As I have been meditating on this chapter I have been so incredibly blessed and humbled to recognize how passionate God is for me. I'm not sure where I got these scratched, stained, fogged up glasses that I'm looking through, but they do a horrible injustice to the man in the mirror! I mean, if God, the Creator of the Universe and Everything in Existence, created me "fearfully and wonderfully" above all other creations, aren't I grieving Him when I look at that magnificent masterpiece and say, "Well, I don't know God. I mean sure, it's great and all, but I'm just not sure if I'm "fearful and wonderful" quality. I appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness though. Thanks. I'll just try to be a pretty good person, 'cause I don't think I can do much beyond that." How injurious to the greatest Craftsman any of us have ever known!

O God, may I see through the lenses of the Almighty; may I perceive what the Astounding Architect has built; may I know the vastness of Your Majesty in me! Thank You. May I show my gratitude with my life...and somehow that will never be enough.

How are you seeing yourself? After all, you were made from the same matter I was.

-Psalm 139