Handiwork

He clothes the lilies of the field, cares to feed the sparrows, calls the stars by name, owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but all these came forth with just a command. He spoke and they were. He spoke and nothingness gave way to creation. Yet all this awe inspiring beauty surrounding us came into being with just a verbal command without flexing any divine muscle. They came about as a part of mass production, He spoke and the oceans teemed with life, birds decorated the skyline and the millions of species of living things came about.
But you and I are not a part of the verbal command and production factory. We are custom made, we’re His handiwork, we bear His fingerprints. He designed us in the womb and supervised the development of our formless embryo. From the 2 celled being to the 100 trillion being reading this, He has monitored the entire process of growth. Why so much interest in one isolated thing of this vast creation?
Because you and I were made in His image to reflect His glory, no wonder we bear His fingerprints. After 5 days of intense creative activity the Father finally said, “Let us (summoning the other members of the trinity) make man in Our image, according to our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).  What is man? Dust of the earth + Divine breath; fashioned in the image of Yahweh, yet made a little lower than the angels but crowned with glory and honor (Psalms 8:5), His workmanship (Handiwork), created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

The next time you’re hemmed in by troubles all around and your hope gives way to despair then look out of the window, notice the sparrows and remind yourself of the Father who feeds them, how much more will He not do for someone He created in His own image? As I write this, I’m reminded of the lyrics from the song “Reach” by Peter Furler:

“You hold the weight of the world
Still I don’t slip through your hands
Your love is bigger
Than just an ocean built by man
I fall again and again
But You whisper, “You’re still mine”
You feel the pain of the world
But You never push mine aside”