This past week, we thoroughly
enjoyed God’s glorious creation of the ocean. I love God’s creation, and I
delighted in beautiful sunsets the first couple of days we were there and a
large, ‘low-hanging’ moon. Perhaps even more, I love seeing His creativity and
beauty in His living creations. I have never outgrown sea shell hunting. It is
so fun to see the colors, the shapes, the crazy variety of sizes. I found one
conical shell that you often see small crabs in that was only a few pinheads
big. I couldn’t make anything that little and perfect! We had fun watching a
couple pods of dolphins play in the water, and we were able to get fairly close
to them on kayaks. I have never seen dolphins at the beach before. Although a
little scary, as we kayaked out farther, it was neat to see a variety of
jellyfish. They are beautiful and delicate-looking creatures. Gazing out at the
massive gulf, it is overwhelming to think that is a small part of the great
oceans, and to think of the millions/billions of creatures that live there is
amazing. God created them all, uniquely and beautifully.
Many of us can take such delight in
most of God’s creations, but how often do we realize the great majesty of
humanity? It is too easy to get focused on the worth and beauty standards of
the world. Or, it is also a danger to focus on the annoyances and pain that
others cause, which are very real, but we let that overshadow the amazing glory
of the crown of God’s creation.
Psalm 8 revels in God’s glory and
majesty, the amazing nature of His creation, and the honor He has given mankind
to rule over all of it. Verses 3-6 say, “When I consider Your heavens, the work
of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained: what is man
that you take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You
have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and
majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all
things under his feet.”
Even while I want to focus on the
majesty of mankind (and so does the psalm), the word for man used here
specifically denotes the weakness/frailty of people. And yes, it is a funny
balance between realizing how weak we are and yet how God has bestowed on us
great glory. But I know for me, I forget about the majesty and am keenly aware
of my weakness.
So two ways I would love for us to
contemplate this majesty of people this week. First, in your relationships with
others, let us remember that even those who are difficult or annoying bear the
same marks of God’s majesty. They still deserve to be treated with love,
compassion, and respect. Especially for those people you interact with often
who rub you the wrong way, look for ways that they exemplify God’s glory – look
for their positive attributes. Praise and encourage them when you do see these
things.
The other way I encourage you to
remember the glory of people is when looking at yourself. I know too many women
(including myself) who look too harshly or negatively on themselves. We often zero
in on the blemishes, the age spots, the extra bit of fat we have here or there,
etc. We miss the beauty and the amazing creation that we truly are. Beyond the
physical, we also tend to be negative regarding our performance. We can focus
on the small mess ups (or even some big ones) to the neglect of the work God is
doing and the many ways we show love and God’s character.
Let us be more respectful of and kinder
to others and ourselves. Look at adults the way you look at a baby or young
child: with great hope for their future, appreciating their preciousness, and
their potential for growth and change. Remember your majesty!
Blessings to your majesties,
Judith Graham
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