Psalms 8:4 (KJV) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Amongst the many songs we see in the bible, in this song, the Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire a question for us to ponder.
Why is God interested in man?
The answer is actually quite simple, but a bit nuanced.
The reason God is interested is because He loves man.
Now, a lot of people will say, "well of course He loves 'man'. He loves everybody", but that is where the nuance comes in.
The love that people automatically think of, is the love that is shown in the sacrifice of Christ.
As it is written...
Romans 5:8 (KJV) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And elsewhere we see...
John 15:13 (KJV) "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
This is the love we always gravitate to when we say God loves.
But that love is not directed to mankind as a whole.
God chooses whom He will express this love towards, and whom He will not.
That's why the Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire the following portions of scripture.
Matthew 25:11-12 (KJV) "Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.'
But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.'"
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Matthew 22:11-13 (KJV) "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, 'Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?'
And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness';
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
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John 10:11 (KJV) "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
John 10:14-15 (KJV) "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."
John 10:26-27 (KJV) "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me"
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With that being said, if we aren't talking about love that saves, what other love can we be talking about?
The love that causes God to take interest in mankind and their affairs is because of the unique position man holds in God's sight.
That is to say... man is the only creature who was made in the image of God.
CREATURE FEATURE
All things in the heavens and earth was created and is sustained by the triune God of the scriptures.
John 1:3 (KJV) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Colossians 1:16-17 (KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
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As part of the creation of God, He has an interest in us as a reflection of His handiwork.
Like all of creation, we were born from God's imagination and intellect.
We are walking exhibits of the awe inspiring genius of the triune God.
We were created to give God glory.
On that basis alone, He cares about us and provides for us like He does with the rest of His creation.
It's this level of love that is referred to when we use the theological term... common grace.
Matthew 5:45 (KJV) ... "that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Luke 12:27-28 (KJV) "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?"
Psalms 147:9 (KJV) He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
Psalms 36:6 (KJV) Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
Job 38:41 (KJV) Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
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Generally speaking there is a level of attention and care that is provided to mankind simply because we are things that God created.
However, God's attention towards us is even more than that. This is specifically because we are made in His image.
Genesis 1:26a,27 (KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Being made in the image of God gives us the awesome responsibility of being the representative of God here on earth.
No other creature has this privilege given to them as an innate part of their being.
The result of being made in the image of God, man had dominion over all other creatures on the earth.
Genesis 1:26b (KJV) ...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
It's the image of God in man that causes God to pay special attention to mankind.
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But there is an even deeper truth to this.
The image of God in man has been marred due to man's love for sin.
Sin, all that which is contrary to God, has been joined to the image of God.
What is the response of God to the desecration of His image?
Just as in the beginning God sought to glorify Himself in and through man, He still seeks to do so.
Therefore, He arranges it so that He will receive glory in two ways.
On one hand, He will mete out justice.
Since man has become acquainted with sin and seeks to deepen that relationship, God punishes them for their wickedness.
They have earned this for themselves, as the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23a).
God will therefore receive glory for His righteousness in carrying out this action.
This is the natural lot of man. To live a life of spiritual condemnation with the judgement of God looming over their head.
However, we have the other hand to consider.
The other way that God receives glory from man is through the expression of His mercy.
While the scriptures tell us that God doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 18), the scripture also says that it pleased the Father to put Christ to death for our sins.
Isaiah 53:1-10 (KJV) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
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With the plan of redemption set in motion, man became the object of God's love as well.
John 15:13 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 10:11 (KJV) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:15 (KJV) As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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So then, with all that being said, we return to the original question.
Psalms 8:4-8 (KJV) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
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What is man? Man is a creature whom God made in His own image.
Why does God visit man? To glorify Himself in the lives both the ungodly and the godly.
As it is written...
Revelation 4:11 (KJV) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Amen
