Tuesday 20 November 2007
- Bible Book:
- Psalms
"For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers". (v.4-6)
Background
In today's Bible passage we read that God's omnipotence,omniscience and omnipresence mean that he is not bound by theparameters which govern our planet. Our creator God was there atthe beginning and will be there at the end.
By comparison, the lives of human beings, who are made in the imageof God, appear small, powerless and brief. The psalmist suggests wehave all the permanency of grass or a puff of smoke - here todayand gone tomorrow.
Those who are aware of this reality sometimes respond in two ways;one common response involves an 'eat, drink and be merry' approachto life (eg:
Despite the relative brevity of our lives (the writer of the psalmsuggests that we should expect to live for 70 years), God stillvalues us. Such was God's identification with human beings thatGod's son was born a 'man and dwelt among us'. Jesus was fully God,yet fully 'man' - someone who was subject to the planet'sparameters during his earthly sojourn.
Moreover, there is no evidence that taking on human form thwartedJesus' earthly mission to redeem us. On the contrary, being someonewho experienced hunger, thirst, tiredness and sadness made Jesusidentify with our weaknesses all the more and quicken the need tobring about our salvation.
We may appear small to God, but this does not mean we areinsignificant in his eyes.
To Ponder
Can you think of someone who did not have a longlife but used their time on this earth in a way that inspiresyou?
Size does not matter in God's eyes - the mostimportant thing is to use what we have for God's glory. In the nextfew days, what can you use in your life for God's glory?