O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!Psalm 8 (ESV)
This is a beautiful Psalm that illustrates the value and worth GOD has placed on one of His highest creations: mankind! Despite our fallenness, we have still been placed here to have dominion over all of His creation! We are here to subdue it all and have dominion over it. It is not to overwhelm us.
At times we forget that. Our culture particularly forgets it. The Fall placed more impediments in our way for sure! It is a more difficult job to have dominion over plant life and animal life because of weeds and disease as well as the animosity of some animals toward others.
Because of our brokenness as a creation and specifically as humans, we need Jesus. He is the One who will make us whole spiritually and in heaven we will finally experience that final total transformation.
It is also more difficult for humans to work together because of the Fall. We don’t naturally want to work together. We find it easy to fight and disagree. We don’t naturally get along. stop
That’s why we humans need Jesus. But that is another story for another time.
Today we are talking about our worth…intrinsically. As human beings, we are valuable. It has nothing to do with our looks, our contributions to society, our intelligence, our wealth, our social standing. None of that matters.
That is why the unborn fetus is valuable in GOD’s eyes. That is why the old person who is confused is valuable…because they are human and bear GOD’s image, though marred…just like the rest of us. None of us bears it perfectly. But we all bear His image and as such deserve honor and respect.
Intrinsically, as human beings, we are valuable. It has nothing to do with our looks, our contributions to society, our intelligence, our wealth, our social standing. Share on XThe unconscious patient, the confused patient, the severely mentally or physically handicapped child or adult, the arrogant adult, the humble person working hard…Sometimes it is difficult to see much of GOD’s image in the person we see in front of us, but it is there.
Those of us who are in Christ will all be whole, we will one day stand in heaven before the throne of GOD, bowing before Him in glorious worship singing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” as we worship Jesus!
Those of us who are in Christ, will one day stand before the throne of GOD, singing, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Share on XThen I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne
a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able
to open the scroll or to look into it,
and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to look into it.
And one of the elders said to me,
“Weep no more;
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered,
so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”…I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…
And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him
who was seated on the throne.
And they sang a new song, saying,“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”Revelation 5:1-5, 8-13
Martha, I am continually amazed when I think about all that God has put into us, flawed as we are. To know that God considers us to be of so much worth that He put us just a little lower than the angels? This thought floors me. I love how you point out that every person, regardless of their state or condition, is of great worth to God. I need that reminder. Thank you.
realizing we are a little lower than the angels is also helpful when our culture is telling us we are a little higher than the animals! it is a very helpful distinction! What value He has placed on us…and responsibility! The command was to subdue the earth and replenish it. often we haven’t been careful enough to care for the earth and been irresponsible…and the earth has suffered.
but some have gone overboard and care so much for the land and animals they forget to care about the people. it is a tightrope for sure!
I love the reminder that every human being has worth because we all bear God’s image, even though it is marred and broken and in some cases hard to see. What a difference it would make to how we treat one another to keep that in mind!
when the truth of that hit me for the first time, i was at L’Abri in switzerland, already grown and married, expecting my third child living child. I had never tho’t of the ramifications of that passage in genesis. as francis shaeffer talked about it, i finally realized how if affects everything! the way we look at the poor, our enemies, those who are unkind to us, the weak, the unborn, the old and fragile. it really changed my life and ministry!
not long later, we returned to the US from missionary service and went into pastoral ministry again. there were always people who treated me unkindly, even rudely, to say nothing of my husband. i realized i needed to treat them with the respect that came from being made in GOD’s image…even if they didn’t do the same!
as time went on, i learned more about reconciliation and good apologies as taught by Peacemaker ministries. It was a learning process because I found i had rarely received good apologies. but that is a story for another day:)
Beautiful scripture references. They bring lovely songs to mind too.
i’m sure they do Debby:) i wish i could have shortened the passages, but i’m a bug on context, and they were beautiful. i shortened the revelation passage a tiny bit, but not by much.
when it comes to reading Scripture, you can’t find anything more encouraging can you?
Martha, this is simply superb. The way you traced God’s image in those in whom we may have trouble seeing it is a true wake-up call.
You’ve done a powerful amount of good with this post, my friend.
#1 at FMF this week.
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/06/your-dying-spouse-324-gates-of-mordor.html
thanks andrew:) i got around to read a bit yesterday, but didn’t get much commenting done. so glad you found it encouraging. we got back from a vacation very late Thursday and haven’t recovered yet:( blessings brother.
” None of us bears it perfectly. But we all bear His image and as such deserve honor and respect.” AMEN Love the scriptures you chose. Such an uplifting post!
Blessings to you! I’m your neighbor at #FiveMinuteFriday.
i’m so glad you were encouraged by this gayl:) i hope to get by with comments today. our travel home was quite tiring:(