By Dr. Jannie L. Rogers
“What is man that You are mindful of him…?” (Psalm 8:4).
Years ago, God brought forth a creation made in His image and put His great planet in the hands of this one whom He made out of the dust of the earth. After blessing him, God said to him, “…Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) In other words, God put everything under the authority of mankind, giving him the privilege of asking Him to do what he needs done. The Lord said, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)
Isaiah 65:24 is the reason Jesus said to the people He was teaching: “…the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38) Isn’t it peculiar that the owner of the harvest asked us to pray that He would send laborers into His harvest? The harvest be-longs to Him. Why should He ask us to pray for Him to send laborers into His Vineyard? It is because we are in charge of the earth, and God gave us a free hand.
God so loves mankind that He will not take the job away from us. We would never drive our car if we sat in our house and asked God to drive it. We must drive it. Nei-ther would we send our five-year-old child to drive our car. We wait until he becomes of age to drive. This is how God works with His people. He waits until we come to the knowledge and understanding to do what we are supposed to do. Then He puts that moti-vation in us to go forth to accomplish the work that is to be done. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s but the earth He has given to the children of men.” (Psalm 115:16) The Lord made mankind to go forth and accomplish the things at hand. God did not place these things out of the reach of man but put them on earth where he could get them.
Mankind cannot comprehend what the Lord wants to do for us. An Old Testament prophet said, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness, I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3) We will never fully perceive the love God has for us.