Man's Greatness Because of Grace

As
the writer of the 8th Psalm meditates upon the greatness and the
majesty of God, he considers all the work of His hands; the sun, moon
and the stars. He is made to think of the honor bestowed upon the
creature called man. In the fourth verse we can almost hear the awe
in his voice as he says, "What is man, that thou art mindful of
him: and the son of man that thou visitest him?" When we
consider the high aspirations of God for man, who was to be the
crowning glory of His creation, our minds truly are staggered. Man
was made in the image of God that he should show forth God's Glory.
He was made upright that he might fellowship a Holy God. The wealth
of the entire universe cannot match the value of one single soul of
the creature called `man'. The angels, though they be great in might
and power, and praise him continually before His throne, have never
been privileged to be called the friend of God.

It
is true that man in his natural, present condition is called the
enemy of God, but this is mans own doing and not the will of his
creator. He had in mind higher things for man than that he should
spend his days mired in sin, plagued with wars and disease,
struggling against heart-break and with the specter of death
constantly staring over his shoulder. What happened that man, who had
been created to commune with God is suddenly subject to every evil?
The answer is simply SIN. "For as by one man sin entered into
the world, so death passed upon all man, for that all have sinned!"
Think of the loss to the human race even in terms of material
blessings, that man, who was made to have dominion over the whole of
creation is suddenly barred from its most desirable garden. The
spiritual blessings intended for man are beyond our comprehension!
Will God, Who had such high purpose for man, now leave him
floundering helplessly in sin? Our thoughts go to that event in the
life of Jeremiah when he was told to go down to the potters house,
where he saw the potter at work on a vessel, and he says "and
the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter,
so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter
to make it."

How
like this is the love of our God! It might have been easy for Him to
have simply erased man and created another creature, but His love for
man and man's high potential, as God's friend and companion wouldn't
allow it. So He provided a way, a plan of salvation, through which
man could still exercise that free will that set him apart from all
the rest of creation, and be restored someday to all
those blessings from which he now is separated by sin.

And
so, "He sent His son into the world, not to condemn the world,
but that the world through him might have life." Christ did far
more than demonstrate to man how he should live. It is true that in
His life He was perfect, and that He lived the kind of life in
communion with God that had been intended for all mankind, but,
simply showing man that it could be done was not
enough, just as it isn't enough for one who is dying to be shown that
there are others who are in good health! The cause of mans degraded
condition must be removed if he is to again enjoy that lofty
condition for which he was created. And so, "Christ died for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God."
The problem of sin is solved. The way back to fellowship with God is
opened! Christ not only left us an example that we should follow him
in his life, but paid the penalty for the disobedience which had
plunged man into the despair of enmity with God. And thus, we might
be restored to our intended fellowship with Him! But again, it is not
enough to know the answer to the problem of sin. The answer MUST be
applied.

Man
must first of all realize his condition; that he IS a sinner and that
he is separated from God, and that this is NOT what God intended for
him.

Then
he must learn that it is NOT necessary for him to remain in his
present condition which not only makes him miserable now but condemns
him eternally.

He
must learn that while he cannot free himself from sin, "God,
sending His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in
the flesh." Then the remedy for sin MUST be applied.

It
is not enough that man demands that his dignity be recognized by his
fellow man. He needs his real dignity restored through Christ!

Think
of these words of John, "Behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."
Here is a place of honor far above any that man could possibly
bestow. Friend of God? Yes, and far, far more than a friend. I am His
son, having been born of His Spirit in receiving Christ as my savior.

Having
been saved now by his grace I can not only join the Psalmist in
thinking with awe upon the wonders of the future possibilities, but
my present possibilities, position and responsibilities as well.
Listen to John again, "Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be..."
This is the present position of those who have availed themselves of
the remedy of sin but this is not all there is to being a Christian.
Listen to Paul, "We are laborers together with God!" Not
only objects of His wondrous love and recipients of his marvelous
salvation, but offered the privilege of joining Him in His
work!

We
thank God for those men whose knowledge and ingenuity have, through
invention and discovery, brought such blessings upon the human race,
but mans greatest potential is not reached in the laboratory, the
operating room or the market place, but as he labors with God in HIS
vineyard. The senator who said, I value my seat in my Sunday School
above my seat in the Senate, elevate that senate seat to new heights.
This is our purpose as a Church, to provide those who are saved a
place to work in God's work and so fulfill their responsibilities to
God, themselves and their fellow man by doing God's will.

We
have heard much about the so called `mind-expanding' drugs in past
years, but there is nothing which can expand the mind of man as the
comprehension of the dimensions of the love of God toward us! What
heights of service could we reach if we could only learn to abandon
ourselves to the love of God!

My
Co-Worker

If
no man stood beside me

In
the vineyard of the Lord,

And
I labored without earthly friend

To
take the lost His Word,

Still
I'd have a helper,

I'd
not struggle on alone,

For
the Lord would bear the heaviest

Of
the work, and lead me on.

He
lets me serve Him; blessed privilege!

He
lets me serve Him; glorious thought!

(From
man's weak puny efforts,

What
wonders he has wroought!)

Side
by side in labor,

As
I follow His command,

He
never shall forsake me,

And
I feel His guiding hand.

My
burden's always lighter

When
I labor with the Lord,

And
serve Him in His vineyard

According
to His Word!

fcc

Yet,
however high a plane of service and fellowship with God we might
reach now, it can never be compared with the glory that shall be ours
hereafter.

When
those who have trusted Christ as their savior are changed from our
present state and given bodies fashioned like unto His glorious body,
when and only then will we have realized the fullness of our
potential as those created in the image of God. Perhaps then these
prospects of man which caused the Psalmist to exclaim, "What is
man?" will be real to us. We can only speculate now as to the
details of that time but we need not to speculate on this; God would
have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God
desires that his people serve him now with joy, and that Christ who
once came and died for the sins of the world, will someday come and
that then any little suffering that we might have to undergo now for
His name's sake will pale into insignificance.

F.C.Creel