What
is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:4)
Many
years ago I was in a discussion when another man in the circle said, rather
snobbishly: I don’t believe in an
interventionist God. And I thought: How
sad for you.
The
Psalmist here acknowledges not only man’s smallness compared to the vastness of
the heavens and earth God has created, but also draws attention to the truth
that God takes special notice of humanity… his crowning creation.
This
highlights God’s transcendence – his otherness
(he is above and separate from the created order) – and his immanence (the
idea that God is close to and involved with his creation).
Thinking
of God’s attentiveness to his creation always takes me back to the story of
Hagar in the desert when she spoke to God: You
are the God who sees me (Genesis 16:13).
What is man that you
are mindful of him? The
writer is literally declaring that God’s mind is filled with thoughts of and
care for you.
How
does it make you feel to know that you are on God’s mind?
No comments:
Post a Comment