Appropriate Smallness

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Psalm 8 (click the link)


MUSINGS:
In high school I would often spend the week between Christmas and New Years with my buddies camping at Enchanted Rock outside Fredericksburg, TX.  Growing up in the city, I was not used to seeing the night sky so brilliantly lit up as it is on a clear cold winter night in the hill country. I distinctly remember looking at the stars and being struck with the realization of how utterly small I am in the universe, and how enormous beyond words God is.

I experienced verses 3-4 that night, and have many times since.  

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

If I’m not careful, the sense of my “appropriate smallness” can almost be overwhelming. I mean, how significant can man really be in God’s eyes in light of his vast creation? How can God even notice one solitary individual in the expanse of the universe? Well, the psalmist answers the question by reminding us that we have been crowned with glory and honor by God, destined to rule on his behalf!

 

I know you are probably reading this devotional in between five other things you are doing, but take time to ponder that truth. You, (yes you!), have been crowned with glory and honor, created in the very image of God to rule and reign on his behalf. Though we may feel insignificant at times, we are the crowning work of God’s hands.

 

By the time of the first century, this Psalm was recognized to not only be speaking of mankind in general, but of the messiah specifically. In that sense, Jesus is the ultimate human, made a little lower than the angels but crowned with glory and honor because of his sacrifice for us. And now, because of the renewing life of Christ in us, we can once again live as God intended: as his image bearers caring for his creation.

 

 

POINTS TO PONDER:

Do you have a healthy sense of the “glory” you have in Christ, that you are created bearing the image of our loving Father? Or, are you too hard on yourself, focusing primarily on your shortfalls?

 

Do you have a sense of what it looks like for you to “reign” right now? What does it mean for you to bring God’s grace, beauty, and justice in your areas of influence?

 

When was the last time you had a Psalm 8 moment, when you were overwhelmed by the grandeur of God and his specific love for you in the midst of his vast creation?

 

 

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, grant me revelation to see myself as I truly am. Give me eyes to see your glory in me. And show me how to walk in your authority, reigning by your power and grace throughout this day. May your kingdom come and your will be done in and through me, by your Spirit. Amen.

 

 

WHO AM I?

My name is Greg Bland and I am the proud father of four children. My firstborn, Hailey, is currently serving as a missionary in China for the next three months, leading a team of college age students to bring the gospel to that region. Hailey is a remarkable young woman! She is a great leader, compassionate, wise, insightful, gracious, an encourager, a kind truth-teller, and appropriately bold. Her love for Jesus is genuine and infectious. This may sound strange for me to say, but I find myself closer to Jesus when she is around.