The Crown of Creation?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we consider the majesty of God and the enigma of humanity. We ask why if we are the pinnacle of God’s work of creation that we are all so insignificant. Friends, sometimes those who are struggling in the faith need the comfort of a personal God who knows each of our names as our Sovereign knows the names of the stars. The Angels may know the name of God but we as humans have been assigned to name the vast complexity of the detail of the universe. So today we give thanks that we have a question to answer. So will we be seen as a particle of nature or with Jesus, in glory and honor and truth, part of The Crown of Creation?
Scripture: Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
Genesis 2: 18-19 (NRSV)
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 (NRSV)
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Colossians 2:9 (NRSV)
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,
Ephesians 3:20 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s Psalm David asks a question that deserves an answer. So who are we? What are we and why are we? When David wrote these words he knew he was small but he had no idea just how small we humans are in relationship to the Universe. He had no idea about how we might see the world through the lens of the Hubble telescope or an electron microscope, how men might send pictures back from the moon of a beautiful blue sphere floating in the blackness of eternity… a place we call earth. David had no idea how many billions of teens would be asking that question about their life, how many middle aged men and women might be asking that question as well. The reality is that even if we are stewards of and explorers of this place, we are nevertheless really, really, really small in comparison to the Universe. But the question is not so much about physical space but about our spiritual relationship to this Creator. Perhaps we were created in His image so that we might love and become full and complete through Christ… a Christ that as God and Man walked this earth and calls us to walk in His Spirit. Indeed, as David says, the Glory of God is set above the heavens. This experience of God taking the initiative to accomplish great things in our lives is not small at all. There is a power that works in us when we are held in the palm of the hand of the God of the Universe. God created the whole universe, everything that we see, and last of all he created man. Man is special and is the crown of God’s creation in other words Man is the crowning work of God’s creation that’s not a statement of arrogance, that’s a statement of fact. Bible says we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. The creation of humanity is shown as the high point of God’s creation. And the implication is the profound value of human life. So we need to begin with the Bible to see what it says about humanity being created in the image of God. As image bearers of God, we reveal and unveil something about the character and nature of God in bearing His image with dignity then we as Christ-followers are revealing to the world around us that we value what God values most. God values human life.
Pray that God’s majesty and love be a comfort to those who feel unimportant and insignificant. Pray we realize that our hands are gifts from God to be used for His glory and purpose. Pray we realize that God thinks we are worth something. Pray that we have the mind of Christ in us. Pray Jesus names for us our sins and heals us silencing the enemy.
Pray we acknowledge that God’s glory and power is manifested in all the corners of the created order. Pray we acknowledge that God’s methods are not ours. Pray we acknowledge the beauty, complexity and vastness of God’s work. Pray we acknowledge we were created in the image of God. Pray we acknowledge that God has delegated to us authority to exercise dominion over the earth and is some ways we have succeeded and in others failed. Pray we acknowledge that God made us who we are and that God loves us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 