Upgrades!

 

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. (Psalm 8:1-2 ESV).

 

I have found the temptation to want an upgrade to be a powerful influence in our lives. This is especially true when I am working in the wood shop. I’ve attached a picture of a woodworking shop that was designed after years of planning and saving for the “dream shop.” Some of you have been to my little shop. It is housed in our single-car garage. It has a footprint of about 300 square feet; this shop is over ten times larger at 3,600 square feet! According to the description, I have some of the same kinds of equipment and tools; however, mine are older and smaller. The cost of this shop with all of the equipment approached a million dollars! To say it would be an upgrade is certainly an understatement of enormous proportions.

 

Of course, almost everyone likes to upgrade. Balding men want more hair, not less. Techies want a faster computer, not a slower one. And we all want better relationships, not worse ones. But the eternal Son of God, the One whose name can only be described with the most superlative modifiers “downgraded” to become human for our sake (cf. Philippians 2:7). Imagine that.

 

Of course, there is glory and honor to being human. It’s about what God made us to be: wise rulers over all creation. Sadly, that glory and honor have been tarnished by our persistent rebellion against God. We are made in the image of God. This is a glorious thing, and it allows us to serve God in ways that no other creature can. But we let it go to our heads. We act as if we own the place. We use it and abuse it however we want. But the truth is, our world belongs to God.

 

Jesus restores the glory to being human. Unlike the rest of us, he is no petty tyrant. Instead, he came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). And he was “crowned with glory and honor” for doing so (Hebrews 2:9). In fact, God exalted him to the highest place in heaven. And from there he rules wisely over all creation (cf. Philippians 2:9-11), as human beings are meant to do. Being a believer in Jesus is the ultimate upgrade!