2. What is Man?

A Meditation of Psalm 8

While wandering in the meadows with his sheep, young David might have spent hours and hours gazing at the starry sky and pondering its beauty. The sky always ignited his imagination, and it always lifted his thoughts to great heights.  

Psalm 8 is the expression of David’s wonderment. The blue canopy decorated with shiny stars is seen here as a mighty art-work done by God, the unique artist. This mere depiction is but a shadow of how wonderful, how powerful, and how skilful the artist must be! Such power and skill is far beyond the abilities of any human artist. Even the artworks of the best masters pale in comparison to the design of this divine artist.  

Compared to the might of God, how powerless man is! Compared to the immortal God, how transitory the mortal man is! One wouldn’t expect God, the almighty and the immortal, to be mindful of humans, these mortal creatures on the earth.  Does an elephant care for the grass it treads on? However, God does care for the humans! This thought dumbfounds David.

God cares for man. That is why man was placed in charge of all the other living beings on the earth. Man is God’s representative on the earth. For the other beings on the earth, man is the visible God, or in other words, the image of the invisible God. Man is king on the earth, representing the heavenly king. Man is priest, representing the rest of the creation before God. Man is also prophet, the spokesperson of God to the rest of the creation. 

This places man in a privileged position. However, privilege is only one side of the coin. The other side is responsibility. Neither of them exists without the other. Man enjoys the privilege only as a representative. The earth and its fullness belong to God, and man is a part of the earth. If man refuses to take care of the earth, man cannot retain his privileged position. Mankind is chosen by God to represent God on the earth. This calling is for performing a responsibility; not for a privilege over the other living beings. 

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