What is mankind?

I've always imagined the times when the psalmist David was writing his psalms to God. And my most favorite is this one;

Imagine David is out on the field. The sheep are out. Wind was blowing softly. He's looking up. The sky is filled with stars. Stars that are shining in its fullness...

What would you do in a setup like that? There's nothing else to do but worship. Worship the God who made all of those things. And that's what the psalmist did. The little shepherd boy began worshipping the Maker...

Psalm 8:1-3

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants

You have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, 

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place, 

He was in awe of what he was seeing. He was blown away. Then he asked what probably is the biggest question of humanity...

Psalm 8:4

What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

After seeing the bigness of God. He asks a question; what is man? and mankind has been asking that same question ever since. What is man? What is my identity? Who am i? Is mankind defined by what he/she achieves in life? Is mankind defined by his/her failures? Is mankind defined by his/her appearance? 

Most of us had been trying to answer that on our own. With all of our successes, all our accomplishments, all our insecurities, all our shortcomings, with our past, background, history. We have been defining ourselves with our own definitions in life. Not knowing, that apart from our Maker, we can never find our being. 

I can imagine David asking and thinking; 

"Who am I? That You are mindful of me? My parents even at times are not mindful of me. My brothers most of the time are not mindful of me. My friends most of the time are not mindful of me. But you oh Lord, is my mindful of me..." 

Then he began to declare the truth that he has come to understand. 

Psalm 8:5-8

You have made them a little lower than the angels 

and crowned them with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

You put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, 

and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, 

and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

He understood and realized how special he is. That though God is a universe making God, he was completely amazed with the truth that, that same God who made everything, was the same God who loves him and cares about him. The same God who was mindful of him, of us...

He started this psalm with worship but again he ends with just the same. 

Psalm 8:9
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Because there is no more powerful way to battle our insecurities and fears, but through worship. 

When all your insecurities, fears, failures, pride, comes knocking at your door. Nothing is more powerful than to rediscover how special we are to God. Worshipping our way to focusing on Him rather on ourselves. Worshipping our way to giving Him the glory instead of claiming it for ourselves.

You are special to God!