Day 3
Day 3 - Making the human race
(01/07/2008) - (05/07/2008)Prepare
Stuck in a traffic jam after a frustrating day at work, I wondered why heaven would be a city. Surely there are better images of perfection? Then it struck me forcefully that cities are full of people. All these cranky humans sitting in their metal boxes around me were, to God, more beautiful than a sunset over the ocean. Ask the Lord to help you see people the way he does.Read
Psalm 8Explore
The human mind has trouble grasping the magnitude of God, so David explores a word picture that uses a part of the human body. Imagine hands big enough to shape planets (v 3) and you are on the way to understanding how big God is. How can such enormous fingers tend to tiny human beings (v 4)? Why would such a huge mind want to think about us anyway?
The extraordinary answer is not only that God does care about us, but that he has given us a place in creation just below himself (vs 4–6). It is no accident that Jesus refers to himself as ‘Son of Man’ (Matthew 9:6) – he is the ultimate human, and this psalm is used to refer to Jesus both by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:27) and in Hebrews 2:6–8. But we have not been given this senior position so we can become arrogant about it – it is God’s job to receive worship, not ours (vs 1,9). Our high calling brings with it a heavy responsibility: taking care of the planet (vs 6–8).
Respond
Think about the things you will do today, and how they will fulfil your role as part of earth’s ‘caretaking’ team. Ask the Lord to show you how to glorify his name and be tender towards his creations, in whatever daily role he has given you.
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