When I look into the heavens, the moon and all the stars, I wonder What is man that you are mindful of him? (Psalm 8)

~"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:3,4)~

There are about 400 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Now, there are 500 billion such galaxies in the universe. Imagine the number of all the stars if we multiply the 400 billion with the 500 billion; it would be 200000 billion stars. Yet, God knows each of the stars by its name - how much more precious is the life of a human created in the very image and likeness of God. And, then we are only about 7 billion people on this planet. We are precious!

1. THE VALUE OF LIFE

Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:29,30).

God cares for the sparrows; how much more He cares for us. He says that even the hairs of our head are numbered.

How precious are we to God?

We can try, perhaps just come close, to understand that if we look at the Lord Jesus Christ. He said that He came into the world to seek and save those who were lost. We are so precious that He doesn't want any of us to be lost in our sins.

Jesus said that He came to serve and give His life a ransom for many. He death on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice, was the price He paid to save us from the consequences of sin - that was eternal separation from God and all His goodness. Now, we need to only turn to God and He is there with His arms outspread to take us in because the stains of sin have all been washed away by the love of Jesus Christ.

He allowed humanity to hate Him to the core by allowing them to crucify Him. On the cross, He embraced us despite our rebellion with His infinite love; He put an end to all enmity; He removed every writ of condemnation. He gave Himself in the Ultimate Sacrifice.

Why?

Because, we are the Pearl of Great Price that God doesn't want to lose. We are precious in His sight.

Yet, we devalue ourselves by separating ourselves from our Source. Our value is not intrinsic in ourselves; it is derived from who we are in Him, because of Him.

The Psalmist talks about our God-given value in Psalm 8:5:
"You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor."

2. THE VISION OF LIFE

The Psalmist also mentions the original purpose of God for humanity:

"You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas." (Psalm 8:6-8)

God created us to be winners, to be victorious, to be wise rulers of His world. But, sadly, how humanity has turned the earth into ruins. We may have excelled in material civilization; but, the earth lies polluted and poisoned under our hands.

The Bible says that the creation now groans in agony, waiting for its redemption, i.e. the manifestation of the sons of God, the ones who will bear the scepter in the world to come. (Romans 8)

In this life now, the vision glows warmly in the lives of those who have turned their hearts to God and have received the earnest of the Holy Spirit. He groans within us to bring forth in us what He wants us to be.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:26-30).

3. THE VANTAGE OF LIFE

Therefore, the Bible reminds us to remember God in the days of our youth (Eccl.12:1), to make the best use of time for the days are evil (Eph.5:16), and to listen to the voice of the Spirit today when He talks to us (Heb.3:7,8).

We have been given only one life; it is our vantage point. What we decide today determines our destiny tomorrow. Let us not waste it; let us seek Him, His will, and glorify His name by fulfilling His desire for each one of us.

There is no limit to what we can do if we trust in the Lord. God has ordained strength even out of the mouth of babes and infants.

The Psalmist could say:
"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..." (Psalm 8:1,2)