2005-08-07 - Ultimate Glory

Psalm 8, Part 5

Verse 9: And so ultimate glory belongs to God, but He has also invested man with glory and honor. We are his creation, and if He has given us this glory and honor, how much moreso has He given to the Messiah.

In addition to glory and honor, the Lord has also given us responsibility to care for His creation. And the final fulfillment of mankind's failed dominion will be carried out th rough the rule of Messiah over the very Earth He was responsible for creating. So once again, the psalmist praises the name the Lord, not just for who He is but also the demonstration of His love and care for us through His son.

Conclusion: Now one point that we should take from the psalm, is that God intends we take care of this planet. He gave Adam the dominion over the planet, and this was with the intent that he care for it. This dominion has never been fully realized because of the fall, but as believers, we can strive to be obedient to the responsibility given before that fall. Granted, God will eventually restore the damage that has been perpetrated, but as Christians, we shouldn't be contributing to that damage.

"But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new Heaven and a new Earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13).

Caring for the planet is not a political issue, but one of responsibility of obedience to its Creator. Evangelicals can and should have a concern for the ecology of our planet. Look at the beauty around us. In it, we can see just a glimpse of what God's unspoiled creation must have been like. Just as we strive th rough the process of discipleship, to grow toward God's standard for us, so too we can do what we can to bring some small healing and restoration to His creation. Just as we look to the coming of the Lord as the basis of our comfort in a painful world, so creation is also waiting on the return of the Lord.

"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay, and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pain s of childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:20-22).

Series to be continued.

Comments or Questions? Geoff

gkragen@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org