What is man that you are mindful of him...

Marcia gave me a series from the book of Psalms: Who's afraid of Doctrine? to listen to preached by Andrew Leslie @ St Thomas'. Marcia loved the series and thought I would too... And I did!

Particularly was the second of the three sermons that stood out: Doctrine of Human Nature (Ps 8 &14) as I compared it to the reading of Act Two of Rhinoceros (see other post).

Jean: I tell you it's not as bad as all that. After all, rhinoceros are living creatures the same as us; they've got as much right to life as we have!

Berenger: As long as they don't destroy ours in the process. You must admit the difference in mentality.

Jean: Are you under the impression that our way of life is superior? ......

Berenger: You must admit that we have a philosophy that animals don't share and a irreplaceable set of values, which is taken centuries of human civilization to build up....

Jean: Humanism is all washed up!

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The mirror has the fullest ability to reflect God's glory – Humans are the crown of all Creation, made in image to reflect the glory of God. While the rest of creation has some degree of ability to reflect God’s glory but humans are most able to reflect God because of creativity, personality, ethical maturity, our bodies, relational etc - all that distinctively human better reflects His glory!

Superior??? Indeed! We are created to image most perfectly God - almost a bridge between heaven and earth. There is a irreducible, cosmically infinite and objective glory about you!
What a pick up line?

Mirrors can't generate their own beauty or light - mirrors reflect light and beauty, hence all our glory and comes from God not something we find within ourselves.

Such a helpful point that I think is a great application of teaching the importance of the glory of God and the value that then instills in us. This is something I hope to include into a study this term with my youth group girls: that we can't look to ourselves or external measures (relationships, status, etc) for our self worth, importance and value– for we will be as fragile as the thing we look to for our worth.

Let's build on the glorious rock of Christ!

Psalm 14 though goes on to depict the lowest possible view of man: That we are radically evil! Can we say that human nature is good – evil is a result of bad social conditions… What about the Holocaust – what do you say about that… Nazi’s did it because of poor education or bad social conditions??? Does it not just trivialize the evil??? Individual vs. Civilisation… can we crush the individual for the sake of humanity and civilisation.

This is what Ioensco set out to do in Rhinoceros and does so well. The tragedy, bleakness and farce of mankind, in decisions, choice and logic with individuals turning into unthinking and clumsy Rhinoceroses – a comment on the innate brutality of people and how they were swept up in the epidemic of Nazism.

We were made radically good (Psalm 8)
But are radically evil (Psalm 14)
Hideousness of evil, Evil will take over and finish us off eternally!
Any Escape?

YES!

JESUS is the ultimate human, the ultimate SON OF MAN, he lived the life we were created to live with all truth, nobility, creativity, and died the death we deserved.

He paid for our radical evil.
He became the hideous for us.
He tasted death for us.
Nothing but the Holy Spirit can turn the mirror of your soul to the LORD JESUS CHRIST!

What an encouragement to go out there and live life to reflect the glory of God to the world!

What a great line Andrew finished his sermon with:

Let this change you from the moment you get up from the pew!

AMEN!

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:: PSALM 8 ::
3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

:: PSALM 14 ::
1The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.