What A Piece of Work is a Man

Psalm 8:3-6

When I consider 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, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

It is easy to get caught up in the daily stress of life, but I think it is therapeutic to slow down once in a while and ponder our existence.  We are mere mortals, set upon the the Earth by a loving God.  His work in creating the universe is endless in its splendor and His work in creating us may be even more impressive.  Even Shakespeare echoed these sentiments in Hamlet (Act 2, Scene II):

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!

And he is right, God did make us “like a god.”  He made us in His image, which explains why we are so resilient yet so fragile at the same time.  God also puts us in charge of the Earth; perhaps to give us some insight into his role as ruler of the universe.  It is a huge responsibility and a privilege to be entrusted with.  We are imperfect sinners, so we don’t always get it right, but thankfully he has given us noble reason and infinite faculty to do the best we can.