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?  Psalm 8:3-4

When the astronauts on the Apollo 8 were speeding back to planet earth from their rendezvous with the moon, they reflected on the vastness of what they had seen in space by reading the words of the eighth Psalm where David wrote, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?  For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalms 8:3-5, KJV).

You don’t have to take a journey into space to be impressed with the vastness of the heavens.  But you do have to get away from the lights of the city on a moonless night to look into the vastness of the heavens and marvel at God’s handiwork.

It was the shepherd boy of Israel turned king who wrote the words of Psalm 8.  Undoubtedly, David spent many a night on the rocky hills of Judea with his father’s sheep, pondering the vastness of creation.  David probably did not know that the closest star is Alpha Centauri, yet that star is 26 trillion miles away.  That is 6 with 21 zeros after it.

If you are tempted to feel that you just do not amount to much in the sight of God because of the vastness of the world and the greatness of population, then try to remember that there is a great deal of difference between space and value.  We are overwhelmed by the vastness of creation, yet the vastness of empty space is not as significant as the importance of life.

Think of it in these terms.  A very wealthy couple live in a home filled with valuable paintings and art objects, yet they have no children.  One day God blesses their home with a little baby boy–their only child.  The nursery is up on the third floor of the great mansion, and it is fixed up as nicely as any nursery anywhere.  Then one night, the smell of smoke fills the house and the father awakens to realize that his home is on fire.

What is his first concern?  The paintings hung on the wall, or the stocks and bonds hidden in the safe?  No, not on your life.  He would run for the baby boy in the nursery, because what money can buy is not as important as life–human life.  That child is his flesh and blood.

Friend, that is why you were important enough for God to be willing to send His Son to speak to you of a Father’s greater love.  In Psalm 8, David contrasts man and the Son of Man who came to planet Earth.  The “Son of Man” was a prophetic term that spoke of a coming redeemer who identified with our humanity–His name is Jesus Christ.  Luke, writing in the New Testament, said, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, KJV).

God is far more concerned with the inner space of your heart than He is the outer space of our great universe.  The created universe–the starry hosts of the heavens–have a message.  They speak of God’s great power; but the message of the cross speaks far louder, for it speaks of God’s willingness to bring us into harmony with Him.  Yes, as David cried, “How excellent is Your name, O Lord, in all the earth.”

Resource reading:  Psalm 8:1-9