Birders and artists are both people who pay attention and wander off the usual paths. Christians, too, can be added to that list. Our call is to look for the hidden God, to recognize the secret Christ who is there in front of us, but visible only when we attune our vision to his face.

Tonight, God comes not to demand proof of your worth, but to declare it. You are not a number in God’s unfolding story. You are known by name. You are loved. You are God’s own tonight and always. And that is something worth counting.