What is man?

I belong to a small group that meets weekly to fellowship and read the Bible and other Christian literature, and to discuss its application to our daily lives.  Last evening, we were discussing the life of a Bible character, a man named Job.

 

Job, through no fault of his own, suffered the tremendous loss of his wealth, his family, and even his physical health in a matter of days.  Satan had accused God of favoring Job, and surmised that Job would not worship God if God would withdraw his blessings on Job and his family.  God allowed Satan to take everything away from Job, except for his life, in order to prove that Job would remain faithful.

 

In the end, Job came out on top and was blessed even more than before, as he did remain faithful to God.  But this story raises a few questions:   Is God just sitting up there, playing games with us?  Why are we even here?  What does God think of us?

 

One of our group members suggested that we are to God as an ant is to us.  We are so lowly and so far separated from the majesty and intellect of God that we can never know his thoughts or plans.  I agree with this, to a point.  God is the creator of everything in the universe.  His power is unsurpassed.  He spends his days in glory beyond our imagination.  His throne is surrounded by angels, and Cherubim, and Seraphim, and creatures so magical that the prophets couldn’t even describe them.  So what could we possibly add to the equation?

 

I wish I could say that I have answers to these questions.  Maybe, someday, I can discuss them with God, face to face, and know the answers.  But what I do know is this:  God gave everything he had, in the life of his very own Son, Jesus, the only Son he ever had or will have.  Jesus endured a suffering we will never know, even to the point of death on the cross.  He did this for the human race.  Not for angels, not for any other creature.  He did it for you and for me.  That makes us more valuable that anything in all creation.  And if He values us this much, I can be sure that he is not just playing games.  This is for real.  Whatever his purpose for your life or for mine, we can be sure that it is significant.