A Man of Little Consequence but Great Esteem

Guest post by Michael Kelley.

“Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with Your majesty. Because of Your adversaries, You have established a stronghold from the mouths of children and nursing infants to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?” (Ps. 8:1-4).

I am a man of little consequence. I, who am beaten down by sniffles and fatigue; I, who struggle to get out of bed most mornings; I, who am constantly struggling with patience and perseverance; surely so great a God does not need one like me.

If God had not formed the heavenly bodies and flung them into orbit; if He were not the very basis for courage, love, joy, and all other virtues we know; if He lived in houses made by human hands; then surely I could make some claim about my own importance.
I am a man of little consequence. And yet…

“You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet; all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas.” (Ps. 8:6-8).

I am a man of great esteem. Of all the creatures in the universe, man alone is the one with whom God has chosen to deal in this way. I am no mere sheep or oxen; no mere goat or fish. I am a man, uniquely created in the image of God. Though of little consequence, the God of great consequence loves me and gave Himself for me.

Such is the great irony of the Christian existence: We are those of little consequence but great esteem.

“Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!” (Ps. 8:9).