What is man? Christians and the world disagree. We know that although man was the crown of creation, he fell into sin. Yet God has restored us all through Christ.

What is man? Strange how this question rises to the forefront again and again. On one end of the spectrum lie answers like that given by Mark Twain, the American author and humorist. He wryly described man as a malfunctioning product made by the Divine Being at the end of the week when he was tired. On the other end are answers resembling the one given by Protagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher, "Man is the measure of all things." Our answer will be different from others because our answer comes from the Creator of all humanity.

WHAT MAN THINKS HE IS

In Psalm 8 David took up our question. "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (v. 4). David began from an entirely different direction from those in this world. He started with God, not man.

Man claims to have all the answers but doesn't even know the questions. He claims to be in control but only ends up making things worse. He claims to be able to take care of himself but cannot make the rain fall, the seasons behave, diseases disappear, and death fade out of existence. He claims to have solutions for a troubled world and cannot understand when the fires of war flare up. Of course, many would disagree, insisting that it's getting better all the time, but the daily newspapers and newscasts are a constant repetition of man's bungling.

What is man? That's the perennial question. Compare him to the Lord, and the answer is definitely different. Man is totally dependent upon and desperately needing the care and concern of the Lord to whom all praise belongs.

WHAT WE KNOW MAN IS

"You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings," David continued in Psalm 8:5. "The heavenly beings" are the angels, the foremost invisible creatures of heaven. Notice where this comparison puts man. Slightly lower than the angels in my estimation is far better than slightly higher than the apes. God made angels to be his "ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14). So man's role on earth is very similar and only slightly inferior to that of the angels. He was created to function on earth as angels do in heaven.

"[You] crowned him with glory and honor," the psalmist continues. What glory and honor God gave man when he made him in his own image. Man shares the same matter as the dust and yet is much more. He was created with a body and a soul. He was created to be like God in true holiness and purity. He was perfectly tuned in to God, in perfect fellowship with him, understanding and following God's ways perfectly.