A Special Glory
Scripture Reading — Psalm 8:1-9
You have made [human beings] a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
Psalm 8 celebrates the glory of God. Take a look at the night sky, says this psalm. Moon, stars, galaxies. Vast beyond imagining! It all reflects the glory of God. And it reminds us how small we are. Not that we need a reminder. Lose your job, and you feel small. Fail at marriage, and you feel puny. Fall into depression, and you feel like nothing at all.
But there is more to being human than being small. Psalm 8 says that God made us just a little lower than the angels, and that God has given us special glory and honor. We may not be angels, but God has appointed us to care for the earth and all its creatures. And when we do that, we reflect the glory of God—like the vast universe does.
The book of Hebrews applies Psalm 8 to Jesus. It says, “Jesus was made lower than the angels for a little while” (Hebrews 2:9). The point? Jesus was made a human being. Jesus shared the eternal glory of God the Father. But he left that glory behind to become one of us, to become small right along with us.
So Jesus knows what it’s like to feel puny. He knows what it’s like to feel like nothing at all. But he also knows the special glory of being human. Imagine that.
Jesus, you gave up so much to become a human being. And you made being human more glorious than ever. Amen.
About the author — Bob Arbogast
Bob Arbogast is the pastor of Celebration Fellowship church in Ionia, Michigan. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a West Michigan blues band. He and his wife Jan have been married forty years and have three adult daughters. Bob has been praying the psalms since 2002.
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