3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:3 – 8)
Today we turn our attention to the Discipline of Creation, which involves an attitude of enjoying God’s creation. As we continue to consider our theme, Our Identity, the Discipline of Creation can serve a vital role. A careful consideration of God’s creation helps us to consider who we are through a humbling lens. In Psalm 8, David sets an important example for us. Verse 3 starts with “When I consider”, and then proceeds to talk about elements of God’s creation. Unfortunately for most of us, the phrase “when I consider” is seldom followed by elements of God’s creation, and so we miss out on a great way to learn about God and ourselves.
Please prayerfully reflect on the Bible passage above.
Something to think about:
How does spending time considering God’s creation help you understand your significance and frailties?
March 21, 2018 at 7:01 am
One of my favorite things to do is run outdoors, preferably by the beach at dawn. It evokes wonder, praise, confession, and repentance. The vast grandness of it all overwhelms, reminding me of my insignificance and significance all at once. God, created this sophisticated existence and is yet mindful of singular, me.
In the beginning God created…
March 21, 2018 at 7:25 am
It is true that we do not ‘consider’ often enough, and when we do, then not long enough. Any real consideration of God’s creation cannot help but overwhelm and humble, with a sense of how great and powerful He is, and how small and weak we are. Yet He has uniquely given us humans the faculties to be able to stop and consider it, unlike the entire rest of His creation (save for the angels). Further, we are given to investigate and understand it, and even to dominate and rule over it! This gives me a sense of His unique love for me, for us, through a sense of His creative purpose being somehow about us, or for us, fundamentally including us. The story of creation in Genesis reinforces this, as does David in the Psalm above. One sincere look at His creation makes us simultaneously feel small AND hugely significant at the same time. One sees how great He is, relative to us, and then immediately, this same ‘great He’ ascribes His utmost significance to us. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!” Psalm 139:6
March 21, 2018 at 6:26 pm
A short response from one who is Beautifully and wonderfully made, as is everything else that is natural on our Earth and indeed the Universe. This we must rememberand give praises for. Some of us have more or less than others..all individually created..hearts and hands and minds.
March 21, 2018 at 8:14 pm
The idea of considering who we are, through the lens of God’s creation, should dominate all areas our lives. Certainly, how we treat others. Do we really see all persons as God’s creation?
March 21, 2018 at 9:29 pm
When I consider nature: we have everything we need to live….water, oxygen, food etc. Also the beauty & diversity of nature.
I am also in awe of the mathematical precision of predicting eclipses etc.; we can even consistently depend on the seasons and day & night etc.
Although we are wonderfully made, we are still just human & all that comes with it.
March 24, 2018 at 3:55 am
Considering that I am made in God’s image and likeness is humbling, so too is the fact that i am “fearfully and wonderfully made” and God has given me power and authority over creation (even if I am afraid of 2 creatures that will remain unnamed!). God has made me “a little lower than the angels” and my husband will not dispute that because the Bible is true!! My only concern is that sometimes he says I am an angel! At the same time I am reminded of my frailties:
(1) I am like grass and a flower that blooms for a little while. (1 Peter 1:24)
(2) I am a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. (James 4:14)
(3) I am like a mere breath; my days are like a passing shadow. (Psalm 144:4)