Magnificent Me

""Yet You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5)

I've always been a bit of a "people watcher."  Even when we go to the zoo, I often find the people around me, and the comments they make, more interesting -- or at the very least -- more humorous than the animals on exhibit. Although I admit, there are times I don't know if I should laugh or shake my head at our educational system. You would be amazed at the amount of people who assume Indonesia is somewhere in Africa.

For instance, overheard at the Okapi exhibit: "Look at that animal. It looks like some sort of made up animal. Like a cross between a deer and a zebra.  I'd call it a deerbra."  And they aren't exactly wrong. The Okapi does look like the result of a head on collision between a deer and a zebra. Look up an image and you will see what I mean.

Of course it's not a "made up animal" at all.  God knew exactly what he was doing when he created this animal. It was purposefully created to be protected in its environment from other predators.  It looks odd to us but in its natural environment it makes perfect sense.

But I don't believe God created this animal this way solely for protection. It also speaks to the great delight and even whimsy ( duckbill platypus anyone?) God has in His creative process.  As we went around the zoo that day I began to notice and appreciate God's great joy and the magnificence in His creation. The beauty of the Great Cats, the sleek playfulness of the otter, even the incredible colors of the Mandrill.  Genesis only takes a couple of chapters to speak about creation. But behind those few words we can see the great joy, perhaps even the incredible fun, God had and still has in Creation.

And the pinnacle of that creation is mankind.  I fear in our debates between Creationism and Evolution we miss the point Genesis 1 and 2 is trying to make. There is one creator and we are the pinnacle, the top of the magnificence of His creation.

David certainly didn't miss the point in the Scripture above.  David sits out at night looking at the billions of stars above him and feels, for a moment,  incredibly small.  But then he is filled with wonder and awe when he says, "Who are we that you would make us a little lower than You? You have crowned us with glory and honor!"

I want you to take a moment and reread that. We, human beings, are a magnificent part of God's creation. We are, in fact, extraordinary, for we have the capability to be filled with His Spirit. We have been crowned with glory and honor! Yes, I know you know all of that.  But do you understand that you have been crowned with glory and honor? I think a lot of us read this Scripture and think it a stereotype. Yes we know we are God's crowning achievement, at least as a species. But like with every stereotype not everyone fits the bill.

So let's clear this up. You are not a stereotype.You are God's crowning achievement. It would be no stretch of the imagination for you to take out the word humanity and replace it with your first name. Who is Bill, or Anna, that you are mindful of me? That you care for me? You have made me a little lower than You. You have crowned me!!

God called you into being and did so with great joy. When you came into existence, God laughed and shouted and pointed as He has always done with His creation. You have been created as a magnificent part of His creation, His crowing achievement and you have been created for a purpose. God cannot make bad stuff. It's a violation of His perfect nature.

It doesn't matter what your origin story is. You may come from a wonderful Christian family background or from an unloving environment.  Perhaps you grew up being told that you were a mistake, a surprise, unwanted. And those voices still ring in your head coloring your view of the world.

But if you listen, you will hear another voice, a louder voice, who proclaims the truth. You are not a mistake nor a surprise to God.  Before you were formed, He knew you. He has a plan and purpose for your life. An extraordinary plan and purpose. If you are crowned and honored, you are a beloved child of the King. And this King has called your creation magnificent.

Who are you that God is mindful of you? Why, you are His child.  Rejoice!

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Brian Jones <><