Psalm 8 - Perspective

Psalm 8 feels like it is about perspective.  It is a song about the awesomeness, the majesty, the power of God.  “O Lord, our sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth” is just one of the statements made about God in this Psalm.  But it also sings about humans such as in verse 4 after reflecting on the stars, the moon, and the heavens:

what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

This photo reflects this contrast.  If you look really closely, you’ll see a bench just to the right of the tree trunk.  It looks pretty insignificant in comparison to the tree, the clouds, the sky, the sunrise.  

But the beauty of the Psalm is that it doesn’t stay there with the fact that God is so much bigger.  The song goes on to lift up how humans are crowned with glory and honor and given unique responsibilities for what has been created.  

There’s been a lot stirring for me lately about this responsibility we have been given - we’re not doing really well with it to be perfectly honest.  We aren’t stewarding the creation in the way that I believe God desires us to do so.  At times, it may feel like we don’t have much we can do.  We may feel like the scope of it is like the perspective in this photo - a tiny, barely noticeable bench in comparison to the rest.  But we can act.  

In her book, Saving Us, climatologist Katherine Haynoe shares so many ways that our individual actions can make a difference.  She shares of farmers making different choices to farm in a more climate-friendly manner.  She shares of young people banding together to lead their schools and communities to greener practices.  She shares so many examples of people doing what needs to be done.  On our own, one action might not make a big difference. But when I act, you act, we act...suddenly we aren’t insignificant.  

I believe that is what God desires for us in this time.  While it may feel overwhelming, there’s a beautiful quote that spoke to me near the end of Dr. Hayhoe’s book.  She quotes a TED Talk given by Katherine Wilkinson who said,

It is a magnificent thing to be alive in a moment that matters so much,