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"On Beginning The NewYear" Psalm 8 |
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| O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the works or 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? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet; all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! |
| It's almost incomprehensible how One so great in majesty and holiness could view humanity with such an affinity. Yet He does. Despite all our failings and our natural bent toward behavior that is less than God's ideal of holiness, God loves and bestows upon us a sense of honor, dignity, and responsibility that serves a duel purpose. One, to bring us to a sense of elation. Two, to cause us to realize with humility the Source of our honor. I can't help but to be reminded of something that Jesus said in one of His dialogues with His disciples. "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-4 There's something diametrically and diabolically amiss in a world that teaches and insists that signs of outward strength and power are desirable human characteristics. Yet we are conditioned to accept outward signs such as physical strength, beauty, talent, and prosperity as appearances of success. Natural children, though recipients and heirs of the fortitude and fortune of their earthly parents, are dependent and rely upon their natural parents. Likewise, as spiritual children, we are dependent and rely upon the strength and provision of our Heavenly Father who bestows favor without respect to all and teaches us to follow His example. None portray this example better than Christ Jesus. Though He came into this world as the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords He didn't make His appearance wearing royal robes or presiding in regal fashion. He came into this world as a dependent child. Though He gained popularity during His short ministry years He refused to exalt Himself and lived a humble life. Though very God in a human body He never allowed His divinity to cause Him to elevate Himself above the needs of a broken and hurting world. Rather, His divinity moved Him to compassion as He walked among the lepers, prostitutes, possessed, and dispossessed who were rejected and disallowed by the religious sects which purported to be God's elected representatives and guardians of the truth. This is the Christ promised in the writings of the Old Testament and portrayed on the pages of the New Testament. This is the Christ that a spiritually hungry and dying world longs for today. Rediscovering His historic example, the example also lived by His disciples and the saints of God in those early foundational centuries, and exemplifying it in our lives as contemporary believers is the great challenge that faces us in our modern post-Christian age. As we lay to rest a year past and begin a new year afresh, may we recognize the holy and majestic splendor of the Father of Creation who gave us the life and example of His Son as our guide. May we so escape the traps of pride and selfishness that keep us from modeling Christ in our lives that we, those who believe and receive Christ in contemporary society, might be for our time lights that shine in an ever deepening darkness. Amen. |
| ©David Kralik Ministries, Inc. 2002 Email: matthewfivesix@hotmail.com |
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