“What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:6-8 quoting Psalm 8:4-6
David spoke this of himself, but prophetically as Hebrews 2 shows, it was spoken of the Messiah. But what was David’s answer to that question?
One true answer for David is that he was a highly gifted warrior who could sling a stone without missing under the stress of life and death. As a young man, he could lead warriors into battle and return unharmed repeatedly. He was skilled in music and poetry which means he had a quick mind. He is described as unusually physically attractive in 1 Samuel 16. In short, he was gifted in all categories.
But when David describes himself he says things like “I am a worm” in Psalm 22, “a dead dog and a flea” when answering Saul. “Who am I?” he repeatedly asks Jehovah in 2 Samuel 7.
So there appears to be two ways to look at this. David is a giant slayer, but he is also a dead dog. When we glance at men around us, we can see certain similarities, and perhaps gifts whereby we surpass others. We may also be seeing badly and lying to ourselves. What would happen if we rose up and looked down at ourselves the way God sees us?
Trees, bushes, and even grasses are spread in different sizes and colors throughout the world analogous to the various gifts spread unevenly among men. The oak tree stands above the floral shrub, which stands above grasses. There are so many kinds of mosses and flowers as to nearly parallel the diversity among men with their sizes, shapes, and personalities. One tree is clearly taller than another, yet viewed from the clouds, it appears difficult to see any variation between a tree and grass itself. If we could stand on the moon and look down, who could tell any difference between trees or vegetation at all? The great differences between trees, grasses, and bushes are all lost when seen from the stars. Looking at the differences right now, we are overwhelmed with some as greater and more glorious, but that is only part of the truth. If we could rise up to a bird’s vantage point, or to the clouds, or higher still, suddenly all the botanical kingdom looks very small. In fact, from a certain height, grass might be more visible and even dominant than trees.
I find this a very helpful way to look at myself and other believers. There may truly be differences among us, but our God is in the Heavens. He holds the earth and its inhabitants in the hollow of His hand. To imagine myself as viewed among all other men from all other times from the vantage of the heavens and eternity is a true and useful way to conceive of the variations within men. Some undoubtedly pass me, and some just as certainly have not received what was given to me, and yet what have we that we did not receive?
It is more marvelous that anyone’s smallness can be used to glorify the One who sits in the Heavens naming all the stars and taking in all men as so much dust, than it is that anyone’s gifts surpass another’s. Further, it is remarkable that we can so quickly forget this is the real case with all created things and all men.
