What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? (Psalm 8: 4, NKJV).
Gracious Lord and Father, “how excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Wherever we turn our eyes, Your glory can be seen. Please help us to know that You are God, and that like You there is no other. May we love You and serve You with all our hearts. In the name which is above every name we offer this prayer. Amen.
Have you ever took time to consider your value as a person? I am not referring to how much you are worth based on your assets, or how healthy you are, or how beautiful you are. What is your net dollar value, just because you are you? When I was a young girl, different evangelists would come to town from time to time. You could be sure that one of their sermons would include that question: the worth of a human being.
I remember hearing some of them say that when we die our value decreases to approximately $1.98! I always felt very uncomfortable with that deduction. I am not sure where they were getting their information, or how accurate and reliable the information was. But what always made me feel better, was the conclusion of the matter: Regardless of the physiological value placed upon the human being, God believed we were valuable enough to die for!
What a remarkable difference in value is noted between humans’ value of other humans in comparison with God’s value of us! It becomes evident when the psalmist asked the question: “What is man [humankind] that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” The fact that he goes on to describe how we were created “a little lower than the angels” gives us a rather clear idea of the great value God places on the human being.
We were not only created a little lower than angels – we were also “crowned . . . with glory and honor” (5). He gave us “dominion” over His creation (6), with the exception of one another. That, in itself, is a clue as to our real value – humankind was not to rule over humankind, for we were all created in the image and likeness of our Creator! Therefore, we are equal in value, one to another.
That God should visit us! Wonder of wonders! At first glance my mind goes back to the Garden of Eden when God was heard “walking in the cool of the day” as He visited Adam and Eve. I am sure that was the best part of the day for the parents of the human race – when they received their daily visit with their Heavenly Father – the Creator!
But my mind goes even farther as I think of how God the Son visited the human race for thirty-three and a half years during the Incarnation. Taking on our sinful flesh, yet without sinning; that He might cause us to live with Him “in heavenly places” when our journey on earth is over.
In answer to the question: “What is humankind? I respond with unspeakable joy: We are the “apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2: 8; Psalm 17: 8)!