What Is Man?

Scripture

What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 

Psalm 8:4, NASB

Quote

God created us to be Kings but the disobedience of our first parents robbed us of our crown.

~W.W. Wiersbe

Psalm 8 is a majestic praise Psalm that speaks of God’s infinite power to create and care for his universe. Only a fool could look at the stars and not see God’s infinite power to create but His power to love a fallen creature is just as infinite. It is a love that cannot be measured nor comprehended by the finite mind. David stood in absolute amazement of both and his conclusion was “God is great.” Louis XIV ascended to the throne of France at the tender age of four and ruled for the next 72 years, the longest reign in modern history. Louis XIV became intoxicated with his own power and declared himself to the the “state.” But in 1715, he abdicated his throne to death. His funeral, which he planned himself, was nothing short of spectacular. He was buried in a solid gold coffin. To illustrate the deceased ruler’s greatness, a solitary candle burned above his jewel laden coffin. When his coffin was place directly in front of Bishop Massillon for the COLS, the bishop shocked the entire crowd by reaching down an snuffing out the candle. The crowd gasped and the bishop said, “Only God is great,” and instead of stunned silence, he should have heard a chorus of amens.

God is great but man is not. Before God created man, He created for man a place called Eden. It was a virtual paradise. God placed man in the garden and gave him dominion over all of creation. In other words, he placed a crown on man’s head and made him the ruler of everything. Of course you know the story: man was lonely so God created woman. She had a crown too as a co-regent but she fell down and broke her crown and Adam came tumbling after. We, that is mankind, lost our dominion and Satan, sin and death got hold of it. Adam had a crown and shared in God’s glory but he lost it and so all his descendants became cursed with a sinful nature. A part from God man has no glory nor greatness. David marveled at the fact that God could care about such fallen creatures. We are frail and flawed, yet filled with pride: so much so that God uses children and infants to give Him the pure praise that He deserves. We are so messed up we cannot give God sincere praise. Little children have the innocence that we lost through the sin of our forefathers. The older we get, the more we lose this purity of heart and sincerity. Of course this is no excuse for adults not to praise the LORD: we must make whole hearted praise our goal.

In C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia, little Lucy faces the Telmarine army. When the Telmarines see this child standing in their way, they look on the child with disdain and continue their march as to run her over but little Lucy does not flinch because in the shadow of the forest stands Aslan. I don’t have to tell you how it turned out–The Telmarines were whipped out and Lucy did not get a scratch. Every Narnian knew that it was Aslan’s power: He used little Lucy because she is the only one who never doubted Him. Bottom line: Jesus is GREAT, He simple allows us to share His glory by using us to accomplish His will.

Human Interest

Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz, does this name ring a bell? I am not sure if it is Lebanese or Arabic but it is definitely Middle Eastern. Amos’ parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon. He was raised in Toledo, Ohio where he attended the St. Fancis de Sales Church. When he was grown, he changed in name to Amos Jacobs. His dream was Hollywood and the entertainment industry but things did not begin well and he struggled to make ends meet. Not wanting to bring reproach on his Catholic family, he created a pseudonymous name and began doing comedy in night clubs. In his struggles, he prayed to saint Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. Amos asked the saint to “help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.” I am not Catholic and I do not believe in praying to saints but the LORD in His mercy answered this misguided prayer and made this man a booming success. He became one of the most popular entertainers in America history and he build the Shrine in Memphis, Tennessee. Today it is called St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and there is no doubt, they are doing a great work. By now you know that Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz was none other than Danny Thomas.

  • Bumped into Lisa, Steve and Dale yesterday at Donnie’s yesterday: Marla Marshall, Dale and Lisa’s sister is in Vanderbilt. Her cancer came back with a vengeance. There are supposed to put a shunt in tomorrow to relieve some pressure on the brain. Dale said the prognosis is bleak. Edith is also sick so this family is up against it: Pray for Lisa Kelso and family.
  • My oldest sister June Daphney has pneumonia. She fail last week and broke her arm and now she has pneumonia. June and went up last night. She is doing some better.
  • Heat wave coming through Sunday: it is supposed to get up to 45 degrees.

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