Man, The Image of God #1: The Mystery of Man

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? (Ps. 8:3-4)”

Scholar Carl Henry wrote: “Who is man? This remarkable creature, whose amazing conquest of space and time has yielded unabridged dictionaries indexing the whole of reality, has fallen into frustration—ironically enough—when defining himself”- (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p. 338). This month we begin a new section to summarize what the Bible has to say about mankind, our nature, purpose, and the affects that sin has had upon us.  

Within this definition, we discover a conflict between how we view ourselves and how our Creator views us. David in Psalm 8, considered the moon and stars with its vastness and complexity and felt his insignificance. Society likewise teaches us to feel insignificant and small. However, it also teaches us to focus on our flaws when we look at ourselves in the mirror – moles, scars, bulges, etc.  Then we look at those around us and see how beautiful they are compared to our blemishes. We also look up the ladder of success and note their achievements and compared to our stumbling bloopers. But is this how we should define ourselves?

As one studies Scripture, how God actually views us, we discover that how society has defined our insignificance is a farce.  Paul and others inform us that while we are to remember our insignificance within the vastness of creation and our limitations compared to God, yet at the same time, we are God’s masterpiece (Eph. 2:10). We are His crowning achievement. Psalm 8:6 states that God has made us just a little lower than God Himself since we have been made in His image (Gen. 1:27).

So what if you have failed in the past? So what if you’ve tried hard but continue to experience failures? Remember even Moses was once a basket case! You are NOT an accident. You are at the spot you are in life right now for a reason and God promises to cause your situation to work out for your good as a Christian. You are the works of His hands.

Charles Stanley said, “Jesus has chosen to put His unmatched presence into these scarred, earthen vessels. He is at home in these tattered earthly tents. We need not be ill at ease, but instead we can relax and enjoy His fellowship, knowing that He died for us while were yet hopeless sinners (Rom. 5:6–8). He has permanently accepted us into His family, with all our undesirable baggage”- (The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, Ps 139:1–24).

In His service,

     Matt