What Is Man?
A recent FB post makes these "astronomical" oberservations:
Want me to tell you something that will blow your mind or make you lose sleep?
Well, look at this picture.
Each of those dots you see is a GALAXY ...
And each GALAXY has roughly 100 BILLION STARS.
Also, each STAR has at least 1 PLANET.
Now how many galaxies do you think there can be in that picture?
And this is just a photograph of a very little parcel of the universe. — Astro Physics
The post continues ...
This makes me lose sleep, thinking about how so insignificant we really are.
Insignifant to whom?? To God? Never!
"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God [the angels] and crowned them with glory and honor." (Psalm 8:3-5, NLT).
Even Mutilated Money Retains Its Value
Many a bill ends up severally damaged: nibbled on by insects, covered by mold, torn, subjected to smoke or fire, or any other many possible horrors. But, all legal US currency, no matter how badly misused or abused, retains its value. If only damaged, the bills can be taken to any bank and exchanged. If mutilated and you yet have over fifty percent of the original bill and if at least some of its security features remain, it can be mailed to the US Bureau of Engraving & Printing in Washington DC for replacement.
God created all human beings in His image for His pleasure and purpose. When humanity fell into sin we did not lose our value in the sight of God, no more than a $100 bill that has been dragged through the mud loses its value as legal US currency. Salvation is the restoration of our intrinsic created value through reconciliation with God, our Creator. This great value is proven through the price paid for our redemption, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18,19, NKJV)
The Dramatic Rescue of Lobby Joe
Joanne Hong, with wimp.com, reports:
The last thing you expect to do when you make a trip to the grocery store is save a life, especially one that most people tend to overlook - a lobster’s. Lobsters, even rare ones, don’t get the same amount of love or attention that other animals do. There are countless animal rescue stories out there, including rescues of exotic animals, such as otters, lions, bears, and even turtles. However, there probably isn’t another story like this about a lobster, which is why it is so special.
It was just a day like any other when Christine Loughead met her lobster. While shopping at her local grocery store in North Ontario, she spotted the special guy, all alone and awaiting his fate, and immediately jumped into action. She told BuzzFeed Canada that she was standing in the meat section ... when she saw the lobster she later named Lobby Joe.
That's when Loughead decided to purchase Lobby Joe for $20.23 and send him back to his home in the Atlantic Ocean. She filled a styrofoam cooler with ice packs and newspaper and placed Lobby Joe inside. Then Loughead and her boyfriend set off on a six-hour drive to the UPS location in Winnipeg, to ship the live animal to a friend who agreed to set Lobby Joe free.
This story is newsworthy because it is unheard of that someone would set out to save a crustacean. A lobster hardly seems worth the trouble.
That describes how the Psalmist felt when he thought about all the trouble God was willing to go through for us. In disbelief, he wrote, “What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:4, NASV).
You and I are like Lobby Joe, condemned to die, waiting for our fate. But then, for reasons hard to explain, Jesus decided to give up everything to rescue us. The Cross of Christ is newsworthy because a holy God choosing to die for sinful man defies all reason. It is not only newsworthy, it is awe inspiring.
“Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4, ESV).