animals – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

If there is one thing this world tries to convince us of is that we are mere animals.

That there is nothing truly special about us. That we’re no different from any other animal.

But Genesis 1-2 exposes that lie.

I find it interesting that God blessed the animals and humans in similar ways. Both were to multiply and fill the earth. (1:22-26)

But God blessed humans in a special way. He said,

Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth. (1:28)

But it would have been impossible for humans to fulfill that command were it not for one important thing God did, one special quality he gave us.

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness…”

So God created man in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female. (1:26-27)

God created us in his own image.

We can think as he thinks.

We can communicate as he communicates.

We can love as he loves.

We can create things as he does.

We have a sense of right and wrong, warped as it is sometimes by sin.

The next time you’re at a coffee shop, or at a park, or a beach, or a train, stop and look at the people around you.

Just look at the things they’re doing, no matter how ordinary.

And ask yourself, “Are these simply animals, no different from any other, with no greater value?”

Yes there are thing we have in common with animals. But God has made us so much more than they are.

So let us stand in awe at the God who made us. And let us stand in wonder at how fearfully and wonderfully made we are.

Learning from the small and weak

It’s very easy for us to look down on people or things that appear small or weak.

But Agur was not one who would make that mistake. He looked at four small creatures, and from them found wisdom.

From the ant, he learned the wisdom to plan ahead. To work hard storing up food in the summer, to make sure they would have enough for the lean times in the winter.

So often, people don’t have the wisdom to do this. They spend all that they have on the pleasures of the here and now, and when trouble strikes, whether it’s a bad economy, a sudden layoff, or whatever it may be, they find themselves in deep trouble.

From the coney, he learned the need to find a place of safety because he realized his own weaknesses.

A coney can do little to protect itself from its enemies, and so it hides out in the crags where its enemies can’t get it.

In the same way, we too are weak. On our own, we can’t fight the enemy of our souls.

And so we hide ourselves in the “rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2),” and make God our refuge and strength.

In his strength, not only can we survive the attacks of the enemy, we can overcome.

From the locust, he learned the importance of organization and unity. By operating this way, they are capable of doing great damage.

In the same way, the body of Christ can do great damage to the kingdom of hell if we will just organize and walk together in unity.

Unlike the locust, however, we do have a King, and it is under his orders that we march.

From the lizard, he learned cautiousness and elusiveness. Though it is small enough to be captured by a hand, it is cautious and elusive enough to avoid being caught.

In the same way, we should be careful to avoid the hand of the devil in all his schemes against us.

Peter put it this way,

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

The thing to remember is Satan doesn’t play fair. And it’s especially in your times of weakness that he’ll attack. But we also need to be aware in our times of “strength.”

For it’s in our time of strength that we can become complacent and unwary. (Just think about David in 2 Samuel 11.)

So let us pray as Jesus commanded us,

Deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

How about you? Are you as wise as these creatures?