Psalm 8: For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. 1 O Yahweh our Adonai, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O Yahweh our Adonai, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Introduction
Do you remember those books “Where’s Waldo”? where you have to try to find Waldo in a crowd of people? Tonight we’re going to play a game of “Where’s Jesus?” and see if we can spot where he is in the verses of Psalm 8. And I told you it’s a trick question, and not only that, but a double trick question. And when we get to the end tonight, I’ll show you what I mean.
Fulfillment in Christ
We Don’t See It
Psalm 8 is about how God shows his majesty in all the earth in 2 ways:
1) by using the weakest and lowliest of people to defeat his enemies (vv.2-3), and
2) by using lowly mankind to rule the world as his deputies (vv.4-8).
And last time I talked at length about how mankind is higher than the animals, and we rule over them and the rest of creation. But there’s a slight problem. We rule the creation sort of, but it doesn’t seem like we rule to the degree this psalm describes. Last time I gave examples of a lot of things in the creation that we have subdued. But David doesn’t say, “You put a lot of things under man’s feet.” He says “all things.”
When you look around, do you see every single thing in the creation under man’s feet? Can we control hurricanes? No - we can’t even control a gentle breeze. We can’t control earthquakes or tornados or floods, or droughts. We can’t even control ourselves.
James 3:7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue.
We can’t even control our own mouths. We can’t cure cancer, or even the common cold. With all our modern medicine and doctors and surgery, disease is still rampant. And ultimately, we all die – even the doctors. Doctors die, scientists die – the smartest people the strongest people – death ends up getting the better of every single one of us. If we’re honest, we have to admit - we do not have the creation under our feet.
So how do we explain that? How do I deal with the fact that the Bible says everything is under man’s feet, but I don’t see it? The Bible says man is crowned with glory and honor, but I look in the mirror and what I see is decidedly non-glorious. I don’t see Psalm 8 happening.
You want to hear something amazing? The writer of the book of Hebrews didn’t see it either. He quotes Psalm 8.
Hebrews 2:6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
The Bible itself says - Psalm 8 is not happening. So what does that mean? Psalm 8 is false? Just didn’t work out? No – the writer of Hebrews is using Psalm 8 to prove his whole point in ch.2, so obviously he believes Psalm 8 is true. And yet he admits, what we see when we look at our world is not what is described in Ps.8. So what’s the explanation? Let’s look at what he says.
Christ Fulfills Humanity
Hebrews 2:8 [you] put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him.
So he’s saying, “Psalm 8 is literal. All things really does mean ALL things” – not one single thing in the universe is left out. Every single molecule and galaxy in the universe is subject to mankind and under his feet.
8 … Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor
Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 8. He’s the one who was made a little lower than the angels, but then was crowned with glory and honor. All the greatness and glory that God planned for mankind is fulfilled in Jesus, the ultimate, perfect man.
It’s like the nation of Israel. So much of what God called the nation of Israel to be, but they failed to be, Jesus Christ fulfilled as the ultimate Jew. It’s the same for humanity as a whole. Everything that mankind fails to fulfill in its role, Jesus fulfills. He shows us what humanity is.
So when Jesus came on the scene, was he under the feet of disease like we are, or was disease under his feet? Disease was completely under his feet. He healed multitudes – everyone who was brought to him. He instantly healed any and every disease by just saying the word. Effortless. When Jesus went around doing that, he was fulfilling Psalm 8 – putting the creation under the feet of a man. He even put death itself under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (then he quotes Psalm 8) 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”
How about nature? Jesus commanded the wind and the waves. He stilled storms with a word. The great deep, which the people back then believed not even the gods could control, was literally under Jesus’ feet – he walked on it. He could make one lunch feed a multitude, or change H2O to have the physical properties of wine. Nature was under his feet.
What about the animals? Remember when Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days? Mark makes an interesting statement in his account:
Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Interesting – he was out there with the wild animals, and it wasn’t a problem.
What about the spiritual world? Legions of angels were at his beck and call. Demons panicked in his presence and begged for mercy.
The entire created order was subject to Jesus.
Ephesians 1:22 And God placed all things under his feet
And that’s not just a NT idea. In Daniel 7 God gives Daniel a dream about the various kingdoms that would rule the world from his time up to the time of the Messiah. And each kingdom is depicted as a different animal. Then the Ancient of Days takes power away from these beasts, and who does he give it to?
Daniel 7:13 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man… 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power … His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Power is taken from the beasts – the kingdoms depicted as animals, and given to a son of mankind – a human being. Now, of course the rulers of those other kingdoms were humans, but they are depicted as animals, because they act more like beasts than like true humanity. So depicting them as animals is a symbolic way of showing them as being part of the fallen, rebellious, out-of-control creation that is to be subdued under the feet of true humanity. And the great Son of man, Jesus fulfills that. “The son of man” was Jesus’ favorite title for himself – by far. And it was a reference to the son of man in Daniel 7.
So back to that question - What is man? What is mankind? Jesus. He is the perfect pattern of humanity.
He showed us the right balance of spending time alone communing with God in prayer, and being out among people doing ministry and showing love. He showed us what it looks like to live according to Scripture, and to depend on God the Father, and to be led by the Holy Spirit. He showed us how to deal with human weakness, and the balance of rest and work.
He showed us balance in all the areas where we tend to struggle with balance. He was a man's man. Strong men admired him, loved him, obeyed him, and followed him. But he was also very much at home among women and they loved him and followed him too. His understanding and wisdom were so vast that at the age of 12 he was dialoguing with the scholars, and yet his teaching was plain enough that children can learn from it. He told simple stories, and yet scholars have been trying to plumb the depths of his wisdom for 2000 years. He preached to and interacted with huge crowds, and yet related in amazing ways with individuals – and all kinds of individuals, whether it be a big shot like Nicodemus or an outcast Samaritan woman at a well. He could relate to anybody, and reach anyone’s heart. He knew when to rebuke and when to encourage. He knew when to show tough love and when to show soft love. He knew when to persist in trying to reach someone and when to walk away.
He was strong enough to put Herod in his place, drive everyone out of the Temple with a whip, rebuke the power brokers, and make demons panic; and he was gentle enough to honor the woman with an issue of blood and little children were drawn to him and wanted to be in his arms. He related just as well with Jews and gentiles – his own culture or a different culture – Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, Greeks, Romans. His ministry was just as effective in rural Galilee where he grew up as it was in the big city of Jerusalem. He dealt with kings, nobles, soldiers, slaves, fishermen, housewives, tax collectors, Pharisees, prostitutes. He dined with rich people, but wasn’t spoiled. He spent even more time with the poor.
He had a commanding presence, had total authority, was all-powerful and could do whatever he wanted, and yet he came into this world to serve, not to be served. He modeled what it looks like to be a viceroy of God – ruling, but using that position not for selfish purposes, but for God’s purposes. Using his power to serve, not to be served.
He was a model of love, a model of compassion, a model of wisdom, a model of courage, a model of faith and trust, a model of perfect integrity. There was never any discrepancy between his words and his deeds. He would often withdraw to be alone in secluded places behind the scenes for long periods. And yet he is a man of action who isn't afraid to be in the fray.
He rejoiced over the works of his Father and wept over the sins of men. He had fierce anger towards people who dishonor God and yet had deep compassion towards the very people who crucified him while they were crucifying him.
He never married, never had sex, never had children, never traveled outside of an area smaller than Colorado, never went to college, never had money, and yet he was the most fulfilled human being that ever lived. He never wrote a book, but is the most influential human being that ever lived. He is the holiest among the mighty, and the mightiest among the holy. He laid down his life for his enemies, and God exalted him to his own right hand to reign over his creation for ever and ever. What is man? That is man. Humanness is not mainly about DNA, it’s not mainly about psychology or physiology; it’s about being like that. The closer you are to that model, the more you fulfill your role as being human.
You’ve heard the saying, “To err is human”? No, it isn’t. The most human of all beings never errs. Error and sin are perversions of true humanity. When someone sins and then says, “Well, I’m only human” – that’s a misunderstanding of what it means to be human. When we sin we are damaging our humanity. We are letting go of our role as humans and behaving like animals or demons instead of being truly human.
We Will Reign with Him
Ok, so back to Psalm 8. Psalm 8 talks about humanity being exalted and honored and ruling over everything, we don’t see that happening with us, but we see Jesus fulfilling it. So is that all there is to it? We fail, so we get set aside and Jesus just steps in and fulfills our role in our place? No. Psalm 8 is talking about the human race, and the things it says about the human race will be fulfilled in the human race, not just the Messiah.
The psalm talks about the human race being crowned with glory. Look at v.10. It says God will bring many sons to glory. What glory? The glory of v.7.
Hebrews 2:7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory … 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory …10 In bringing many sons to glory…
The way God crowns mankind with glory is by first crowning Jesus with glory, and then, through Jesus, bringing all Jesus’ brothers (God’s many sons) to that same glory. So the crowing with glory in Psalm 8 applies not only to Jesus, but also to Jesus’ brothers. The world will be subject to us – you and me – it will all be under our feet. But we don’t see that happening now, so when will it happen? Let’s back up in Hebrews 2 and see the context where he quotes Psalm 8. Hebrews 2:5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of himSo the context is that he’s explaining that God has subjected the world to come to mankind, not angels. So he’s talking about the world to come.
Is that this world? No – this world is the world to go. This world is messed up. TT Ro.8. Because of the curse, it’s not completely under our feet like it’s supposed to be. This world has been subjected to futility (Ro.8:20). And even the creation itself can’t wait until mankind rises to his rightful place above the creation, when we are crowned with glory and honor.
Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. (It can’t wait for us to be crowned with that glory) 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
The creation was subjected to futility – decay, entropy, thistles, weeds, droughts, earthquakes and all the results of the curse. That makes creation groan. It doesn’t like raging out of man’s control. The creation will be all that it’s supposed to be when mankind rules over it the way God designed. And that will happen when mankind is crowned with our full glory and honor.
That’s what God created us for. Our destiny is to reign with Christ. Sometimes you hear someone say, “I don’t need a mansion in heaven. As long as I make it there, I’ll be satisfied with a janitor’s closet.” I suppose people think they are being humble when they say that, but that’s not real humility. It’s never humble to lack desire for what God has told us is his plan. And his plan is for us to reign.
Daniel 7:18 the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever yes, for ever and ever.
27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High.
2 Timothy 2:12 if we endure, we will also reign with him.
Romans 8:17 … we are … co-heirs with Christ … that we may also share in his glory.
1 Corinthians 6:3 … we will judge angels
Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom … and they will reign on the earth.
Revelation 20:6 … those who have part in the first resurrection … will reign with him
Revelation 22:5 [his servants] will reign for ever and ever.
I don’t see anything there about a janitor’s closet. God told us on page 1 of the Bible that we are created to rule the world as his deputies, and that’s what our hearts should be set on doing.
Two Human Races
You say, “Does that apply to all human beings?” If it’s the human race that reigns to defeat God’s enemies, how do we explain those human beings who are God’s enemies? Aren’t they part of the human race?
They are, but they are the wrong race. I don’t want to sound racist, but only one race will rule the world. “Wait a minute – what about all that stuff last week about everyone descended from Adam is of the same human race?” I did go off last week on the nonsense in our culture of thinking that having a different skin color makes you a different race. But it’s not really true that there is only one race – there are actually two races.
The definition of a human is someone descended from Adam. But there are two Adam’s. The first Adam failed to rule the creation, placed himself under the creation instead, brought about the curse, and corrupted the human race with sin. But then Jesus came as the last Adam and took his rightful place above the creation, set in place the reversal of the curse, and made a way out of the corruption of sin.
1 Corinthians 15:45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. … 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
Roman 5:15-19 makes the same point. There are two human races, and which one you’re in is determined by which Adam you are descended from – the first Adam or the last Adam. We’re all descended from the first Adam by birth. And so from him we all inherit sin and death. But if you are connected to the last Adam, Jesus Christ, from him you inherit eternal life.
And the way to be connected to him is through faith. Place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and God adopts you into his family and you become one of his brothers. And the promises of Psalm 8 apply to that human race – true humanity, the one connected to the last Adam.
Where’s Jesus in Psalm 8?
So that’s how the NT handles Psalm 8, and now that we understand all that, we are ready to answer our trick question. Where is Jesus in Psalm 8?
Jesus is in Verses 4-8
Verses 4-8, where it talks about man being crowned with glory and ruling the creation. Is Psalm 8 a messianic psalm? Not explicitly. David is talking about the human race – what Genesis 1 says about humanity in general. He knew the human race would be crowned with glory and honor, but David may not have known what was later revealed about how that would happen through the Messiah. That’s why I called it a trick question. It’s not explicitly about the Messiah. It’s about the human race, but now that Christ has come, we understand that it is the Messiah who fulfills the role of the human race.
Jesus is in Verses 3-4
But that’s not all. I think you can also place Jesus in vv.3-4, where God uses the weakest of instruments (the lips of children and infants) to defeat his enemies.
Children and infants is a figure of speech pointing to the weakest, most unlikely candidates to defeat powerful enemies. Jesus subjected himself to human weakness and became lowly and humble and meek. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem at his triumphal entry, he was on a donkey, not a stallion or war horse.
Matthew 21:4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey"
And it was at that time that Jesus quoted Psalm 8:3-4 about the lips of children defeating God’s enemies. Jesus came in humility and weakness and defeated God’s enemies. I think of that line from the old Amy Grant song: Your most awesome work was done through the frailty of your Son. So, when it talks about God showing his great majesty by defeating his most powerful enemies through lowly, weak human beings – Jesus fulfilled that too.
Jesus is in Verses 1 & 9
But when I told you it was a trick question, I told you it was a double trick question. I said that because there is one other place Jesus appears in Psalm 8. When Jesus quoted Psalm 8 during his triumphal entry, let’s look carefully at where Jesus places himself in the psalm.
Matthew 21:15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw … the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
Why are they upset about what the children are saying? Because they are using a messianic title – calling him Son of David. Those kids are calling Jesus the Messiah. And Jesus isn’t correcting them. So they ask him, “Do you hear what they are saying?”
16 …“Yes,” replied Jesus
I love that – “Yes, I hear them.” What is he saying? He’s saying, “I accept the title they are giving me. I am the great Son of David – the Messiah.”
But then look what he says next. Then Jesus says this: “have you never read… Then he goes on to quote Psalm 8. Now, based on what we’ve learned so far, we can understand that. We can see how Jesus would quote Psalm 8 and attribute it to himself, because all those verses in vv.2-8 are about the human race, but would only be fulfilled through the Messiah. Jesus is the one who fulfills all those middle verses in Psalm 8 about the human race, therefore it’s exactly right for those kids to be calling Jesus the Messiah.
But that’s not the argument Jesus makes. He’s not using Psalm 8 to prove he is the Messiah. He’s not saying, “It’s OK for the kids to call me the Messiah, because I fulfill the messianic role of humanity in Psalm 8:2-8.” That is the argument the writer of Hebrews makes, and that Paul makes, so it’s a perfectly good argument. But it’s not the argument Jesus makes here. Jesus is saying something a lot bigger even than that. When Jesus quotes the psalm, he doesn’t place himself in the position of the crowned, glorious human bringing victory over God’s enemies. Look at where he places himself in the psalm.
Matthew 21:16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”
Now go back to Psalm 8, and let’s see where Jesus is placing himself in the psalm. He’s saying it’s ok for those kids to praise him, because Psalm 8 talks about children praising. Tell me this – who do the children praise in Psalm 8?
Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies
Who is the you in v.2? Yahweh our Adonai, whose majesty fills the earth and whose glory is above the heavens. That’s who the children praise in Psalm 8. When the children praise Jesus at the triumphal entry, and the Chief Priests say, “Do you hear these kids praising you?” Jesus says, “Yes. It’s fitting for these kids to praise me because Psalm 8 says the children praise the majestic, supreme Yahweh our Adonai.” Do you see that? Jesus is placing himself in v.1 (and 9)! He quotes a psalm that is all about the Messiah, but he doesn’t place himself in the messianic part of the psalm. He places himself in the part that refers to Yahweh, the Creator, the great Adonai – Lord of the universe who is praised by mankind.
Jesus is changing the subject. Those leaders are saying, “Jesus, these kids are calling you the Messiah. Don’t you hear what they are saying?” “Yes, I hear them” (implying it’s OK for them to call him Messiah). But then he changes the subject and ratchets it up even further. He says, “You know that psalm about how God Almighty will be praised by children, well, I’m God Almighty in that psalm.”
Where is Jesus in Psalm 8? He is in vv.2-3 as the humble, lowly human whom God uses to defeat his enemies, he is in vv.4-8 as the tiny human race that God exalts to rule his universe, and he is in vv.1,9 as Yahweh, the majestic Adonai whose staggering glory is above the heavens.
What an amazing psalm this is – it takes us from the very beginning in Gn.1 to the end of Revelation, it gives us the perspective from above the heavens and from the lowliness of earth; it shows the meaning of life, the purpose of mankind, the goal of history, and every verse shows us a different facet of the Messiah. It’s like the entire Bible in 9 verses.
Applications
1) Use Your Kingliness to Serve
Ok, so what are the practical applications for this? If we were created to reign with Christ with all of creation under our feet, and that won’t happen in complete form until the world to come, what are the implications for now? For now, on our way to that future glory, we follow the footsteps of our elder Brother. What was Jesus’ pathway to glory? Suffering. That’s why 2 Timothy 2:12 says, if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. It’s the pathway of lowliness and suffering, and not suffering just for the sake of suffering, but suffering for the sake of servanthood.
Mark 10:42 …You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
Remember last time when we talked about those times when you have a great sense of accomplishment, you can throw up your arms and say, “I’m the king of the world”? Go ahead and do that, whenever you accomplish something that no animals could ever accomplish. But when you do it, remind yourself: God has made me king of the world so I can serve.
2) Great by Association
For times when you feel worthless or you get really down on yourself, understand where your worth comes from. Psalm 8 says that God is mindful of us and cares for us (literally, he visits us) – why is that? Why does God pay special attention to man? Why does God pay special attention to you? Why does he love you so much? “I know, it’s because I’m really good at math.” The God who speaks galaxies into existence pays attention to me because … if I lose a few pounds and I’m having a good hair day, I’m actually quite striking.” Is it because of your career, your income, your achievements, your house, your family, your car? No, it’s not because of any of those things. It’s not because of anything in you.
It’s because of one thing – your association with Christ. That’s what makes you so precious to God. They have a dress in the Smithsonian that belonged to George Washington’s wife. It’s in a museum. Why? Because it’s the greatest dress ever made? No, because of who it belonged to. You can go on eBay and buy a ziplock bag of air from a Kanye West concert for $60,000. Why is that air so valuable to someone who actually bid $60,000? Because it’s the best air around for breathing? No, because of an association.
You and I are like that air – or like Martha Washington’s dress. Our value doesn’t come from something within us. It doesn’t even come from what we are; it comes from who we are associated with.
If you’re down on yourself, it’s probably because you’ve got your eyes on yourself. A ziplock bag of air that spends too much time in front of a mirror is bound to get depressed. Our value comes from our association with Christ. Humanity is of great value to God, and in Christ we can become truly human.
3) Marvel and Majesty, not the Mirror
And that brings me to the last application: marvel at majesty, not the mirror. The Christian psychology movement (and some contemporary “praise” songs) follow logic that says, “God loves me, therefore look how important I am!” One song that was popular on the radio for a while was titled Worth Dying For, and the whole song was about asking God to help me believe that I’m worth dying for. I can’t imagine anyone is actually able to convince themselves of that, but if they did, it would really be a sad thing, because it would destroy the gospel. If I’m worth dying for, then what Jesus did was no big deal. If I’m worth his life, that means Jesus didn’t really make any sacrifice – he came out even. He gave up his life, he got something in return of equal value, and so it’s like if you pay $10 for something that’s worth $10 – you come out even.
What Jesus did was worth it to him, not because of how much intrinsic value or worth I have, but because of the joy set before him by his Father.
And even if there is some intrinsic value in me, focusing on that is not the way to real joy. Real joy isn’t going to come from seeing yourself as important or valuable. Real joy come from getting lost in the greatness of God. Isn’t that what we see in Psalm 8? The middle part of the psalm is all about how God has exalted man. And what’s the conclusion? What does he say in the first and last verse? “Oh man o man how valuable and important I am in all the earth”? No. David’s logic is not, “God, you care for me, you are mindful of me, therefore I’m really something special.” It’s “God, you care for me, you are mindful of me, I don’t deserve that, therefore you are amazing!” It’s never “God loves me therefore I…” It’s always, “God loves me therefore he…”
For someone who is great to be mindful and kind to someone who is lowly is always a beautiful thing.
And you can tell how beautiful it is by how ugly it is when the opposite happens. Have you ever seen some celebrity who gets so full of himself that he treats common people like garbage? That is such a disgusting thing to see. But then when you see someone who is really rich or powerful or a VIP show kindness to someone who has nothing to offer him, something in our hearts leaps when we see that. Draw a line from that first example to the second example, and follow it upward and it points to God, who is the supreme example of someone in power stooping to help the lowly and undeserving. And he did that, not because of our great value, but he did it when we were still his enemies.
Chris Evans and Chris Pratt – Captain America and Star Lord. Very popular, very rich, strong, important celebrities. They took some time to dress up in their costumes and went and visited sick kids in the hospital. That’s great, right? We love stories like that, where powerful people use their power for acts of kindness and mercy. But if you’re that little boy in the hospital bed, lying there, and then suddenly in walks your two favorite superheroes – these two men whose time is worth millions of dollars, and they took some of that time just to come cheer you up, how do you react? I heard the same thing about Taylor Swift. She’s known for visiting hospitals, the poor, the needy, etc. And she doesn’t take any entourage or cameras or anything like that – just shows up. If you’re the little girl whose favorite pop star in the whole world comes walking in to your room to pay you a visit and shows you kindness – how do you react? Do you think those kids lie there and think, “Wow, I am so amazing”? No. They are the last thing on their minds. They are lost in wonder as they enjoy every moment of seeing this amazing person who came into their room. That’s where their joy comes from.
And we have someone who comes and visits us who is far greater than Captain America or Taylor Swift. What a shame it would be if that little kid totally missed the visit from Chris Pratt and Chris Evans because he was all caught up in thinking about himself – his shortcomings, his failures, or his self-importance or self-esteem, or self-anything. O Yahweh our Adonai, when I consider your heavens, what is man that you are mindful of him and that you visit him? Enjoy the fact that God has exalted you and lifted you up, but then turn your attention away from yourself and on to the one who is visiting you.
Which of the three applications do you want to focus on most in your life right now?
