The Work of His Fingers

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8 ESV).

 

Iris Scott is a professional finger-painter. And her work is anything but child’s play. The NY Post article quoted her: “It’s taken me years just to get the fundamentals down.” You can see from the picture the incredibly detailed, expressive tableaux she has created using nothing but her fingers as proof. Our psalmist today calls God a “finger painter” of sorts. Scott’s work is incredible; however, nothing can draw out our “oohs” and “aahs” like dazzling displays in the sky on any day. A sparkling vista of stars, a gold-drenched sunset, or a lofty landscape of clouds all can summon our responses of awe.

 

But the immense expanse of God’s canvas can also make us wonder where we tiny human beings belong in comparison. Who are we that God would even take notice of us when it seems that so much else is bigger and grander in God’s world? How could God be concerned for people who so often disappoint him?

 

The psalmist has a wonderful answer to those questions. It is this incredible affirmation that God does notice us. In fact, God created us with as much care and attention to detail as he put into the starry skies. God created us only a little lower than the angels! We have great worth because we bear the image of our Creator. And just as clouds reflect the light of the sun, we were created to reflect the glory of God.

 

Even more, because he became a human being like us, Jesus Christ shows us how to perfectly reflect God’s glory (cf. Hebrews 2:5-9). Now we are a bit lower than the angels, but Jesus, when he comes to reign over the new heavens and earth, will raise all who belong to him above the angels to be where he is (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Hebrews 2:5-18). That is the “crown of glory” awaiting all of God’s children. That is what God has intended for each of us. That is the end of this path we travel through the valleys and peaks of life on this earth. What a day that shall be!