Grateful for Our Design and Designer

Monday - November 9th

Day 9: Attitude of Gratitude

Scripture to Read Today: Psalm 8:1-9

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What is mankind that

you are mindful of them,

human beings that you

care for them?

You have made them

a little lower than the

angels and crowned them

with glory and honor.

Psalm 8:4-5

Plants make up 82% of the total biomass of the earth. Of all the mammals on earth, 96% are livestock and humans, only 4% are wild mammals. Of all the birds on the planet, 70% are chicken and poultry livestock, 30% are wild birds. The total biomass of the human race accounts for just 0.01% of all life on earth. If you approach the value of human life by its size in terms of all life on earth, the biomass of human life is insignificant.

God's Word tells us that humanity possesses value because we are made in God's image. Genesis chapters one and two provide man and woman's intentional design as beings above all of the rest of creation. God breathed into humanity the breath of life. No other thing that God created gets described as having that breath of life from God.

Psalm 8 is an excellent psalm of praise that notes the uniqueness of humanity among all of creation. "You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor" (verse 5). God demonstrated the value that comes from being made in His image created within us as He sent Jesus to save us. He looked at us in our sin and loved us. He loved us so much that while we were still stuck in our sinfulness, Jesus died for us.

When we know Jesus, the price He paid, and the grace God shows us through Him, we are humbled. Not only are we humbled, but we are also grateful that God made us in His image. We are thankful for the stewardship He has given us of all creation.

We may only be 0.01% of the total biomass on the earth, but God created us with life that is valued above all other life. That value comes from our creator's purposeful design - not how many of us there are in comparison to everything else. He entrusted to us the stewardship of caring for the rest of creation. Let's thank God for His making us in His image.

An attitude of gratitude includes knowing who God designed us to be and what He has entrusted to us in life!