Why God Is Calling You to be a Son of Man
There is a “son of man” in all of us.
Psalm 8 says: 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
Why would God care for us when we are such a small footprint in the universe compared to the order of stars and galaxies, time, and the laws of physics that have to be in perfect harmony to keep stability? Because we, son of men, are the high point of creation, created with the intentional ability to reject or worship God, not passively reflect His glory like a star or even a collection of galaxies. Because of that great honor, God pays special attention to you and me. God communicates with us, raises us up, gives us hope, calls us to obedience, because when we lay down the reasons we have not to worship God and follow Him, we move with the heart of God, creating as the Creator does, building as the Great Builder does, and sustaining as the Sustainer does. It is that capacity that we do not see in the rest of creation, that separates us from everything else.
We have the capacity for great movements of compassion as does our Creator, and God believes that our hearts willing to communicate grace is a reason to watch over us carefully. Every time that you follow God and do what honors and pleases Him, you are showing why God chose to redeem the sons of men. Even in the midst of our overbearing tendencies to be too much like God, God believes that humanity has the best capacity for reflecting the glory of God. God is not looking for a passive reflection of His glory, but an active reflection, a movement of people doing something that exemplifies why God created us in the first place. We are called to compassion and greater things.
Revelation 1 says: 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
When God sent Jesus to be the son of man fulfillment that we cannot be, He communicated that the sons of men reflect more than just fallen and sinful humanity. God in Christ Jesus communicated that God still has expectations of greatness for His people, even after we had our fall from perfection. Jesus calls us to answer the need for the son of man in all of us. We need forgiveness and we need the reminder of wrath to call us to obedience. But, above that, we need to continually see a model of what God’s perfection in human form can do, a model that moves us to see all that the son of man can be. When we believe that we can be more, the son of man in all of us becomes even more alive. That is the promise of God in Christ, that redemption brings a lasting vision of God remaining with His people and raising up the next opportunity.
Only the Savior could fully be the son of man that is just like you and me, and fulfills the future vision of one who has the right to reign with a golden crown upon His head. He models the earthly leader of compassion we need and the spiritual mediator that sustains hope in what we do. And, in front of God the Father, Jesus answered the blasphemy charge for us that reconciles a people far from wanton mercy.
Be the son of man that is a part of God’s family. Believe that the Son of Man is in you. Jesus Christ revealed God’s merciful intent for His people. Be intentional in your faith and worship, not passive. Make the correlation between God and this world. Amen.
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