Ps 119:73-80 Yodh
73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. 74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. 75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. 76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. 77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. 78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. 79 May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. 80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

Have you ever made something with your own hands and then looked at it with great pride? What would have been your reaction if someone wanted to destroy it or someone wanted to change it into something else? Probably any of us would have reacted in anger, jealous of our own creation and wanting to preserve it for our intended use. It was now a part of us and it belonged to us.

As the story of creation unfolds, we read how each thing was created and the order in which they came into existence. The last element of creation was that of Adam and Eve. We then are told that God saw all that he had created and it was very good. This was a perfect work that had been completed. God had made humans in his likeness and had given them a perfect place to live. He could share with them and be friends with them. So after a day of cultivating and dressing the garden, Adam and Eve would walk with God and talk to him as we do with our friends in the evening. Can you just imagine the pride each day as God left them and reflected on how much they were like him?

This is how God feels about each of us today. He made us and we are his. We are supposed to be in his likeness and when we fail to live this way, it brings him grief; it angers him because he is jealous of that which belongs to him. He has not left us alone in this quest. He has given us his Holy Spirit to change us and to help us be like him. He has revealed his mind to us in his Son. He has given us his word so that we can understand what he expects from us. This is why he loves us and gave his Son so that we can live with him in eternity.

O God, I thank you for giving me life and especially for the wonderful place in time and physical heritage with which you have blessed me. I thank you for giving your Son so I can be assured of living with you in eternity. I thank you for your constant care in my life and the assurance that you are always close by me. Forgive me when I sin and fail to be like you. Use me to bring others to you and to encourage those who are serving you. I pray in the name of Jesus my Savior. Robert