Well, we're going to look now at Psalm 8, and I just want to say: if only Psalm 8 was in the Bible, your Bible would be worth having, worth studying, and worth living. My title for Psalm 8 is "The Pinnacle of Creation."
Again, I want to start with some questions. Do you ever feel like your life just doesn't matter, like you don't have value, like you live unnoticed? Do you ever wonder what your place is, what your role was meant to be? Do you ever go through those moments where you feel like no one really knows and no one really cares? Some of you think that no one cares if I live or die, or in this immense universe that you live in, do you feel a little lost, or without value?
Well, Psalm 8 is written for us when we're in that kind of experience. It is a hymn about the dignity and honor of every human being made in the image of God:
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at 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,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 begins with the majestic glory of the Lord. His name is majestic in all the earth - every created thing points to his existence and his glory. The world we live in is like a building with the architect's name on it - everything points to God!
But for people like you and me, living in this immense and glorious universe, that still leaves us with a question; it's the ultimate question, "What is man? What am I?"
The way that you answer that question - "Who am I? What is my life all about?" - will shape everything you do and say in your life. "Am I just a being who happens to have risen to the top of the primordial soup? Am I just another speck on one ball in the middle of the universe?"
Well, not according to Psalm 8. The question gets restated, "Why are you mindful of him? Why do you care for people?"
The answer comes. God says, "I've made you a little lower than angels. I've crowned you with glory and honor. I've given you dominion over what I created." God says, "You have royal identity; you have divine appointment, you have a reason for living, your life matters, you have value in my sight!"
What you tell yourself, about you, the identity that you live out, is terrifically important. What you tell yourself your purpose is, is terrifically important.
God says, "Don't you get it? You're the most valuable thing in my creation, and I've asked you to be the resident manager over everything that I've made - to have dominion. You live that dominion out in your home, in your relationships, in your work, in your church."
But the thing that I love most about Psalm 8 is Psalm 8 is a finger pointing us to Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate royal son. Jesus is the ultimate one who is crowned with honor and complete dominion. If you have value, how much more value does Jesus have?
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. What has God entrusted you with? Where has he given you dominion? What is he asking you to manage? Write down or share with others a list of the spheres of your influence. What would it look like to be a good steward in these areas? How can you glorify God? Be specific. What are some of the challenges of life in a fallen world that make stewardship difficult? What are some of the selfish temptations of your heart that will distract you? How can you partner with and learn from other Christians in similar spheres of influence to better exercise dominion over what God has entrusted you with?
2. How can you glorify God by recognizing and affirming the dignity, honor, and value of the lives of people that he has placed in your sphere of influence? Who do you know who feels worthless? How can you encourage and uplift them? Who do you know who is alone? How can you be hospitable? Who doesn't have a home or feels like a stranger? How can you welcome them and greet them in the name of Christ? Who doesn't have a voice? How can you fight for the oppressed, the forgotten, and the unborn?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children: What are some jobs that people have? Do you know what my job is and what I do when I am at work? What would you like to do for a job when you get older? Did you know that God has given you work to do now? No matter how old you are or what your work job is, God has given us all the same task - to take care of the world he created. And of all the things that God created in the world, people are the most important, because they are made in God's image. How can you take of your world and the things that God created? How can you take care of and love the valuable people that God created?
For Older Children: Do you feel worthless, or that you have little value and nothing positive to contribute? What happened recently to make you feel this way? Did someone tell you this, or treat you like you didn't have value? What is the most majestic, beautiful, impressive thing in creation that you can think of? Did you know that you have more beauty and honor and value to God than that, because you are made in his image? Nothing that anyone says or does to you can reduce your value to God. In fact, God values you so much that he sent his only Son to die for you - he was willing to lose his own child to make you his child forever; that's how much you matter! How can you remind yourself of the love that God has for you when you don't feel loved? And, as you remind yourself of that love, how can you love others who feel unlovable?
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