Wonderfully made.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. // Psalm 139:13-16
For a period of two years, we had the pleasure of living in Taiwan. Life in Taiwan brought many adjustments and many joys. One of our greatest joys was experiencing some amazing food made by people of Taiwan. Their food is rich and diverse in flavor—when I think of “made in Taiwan” my mind comes back to this taste-bud experience. One of my favorites is a drink called, “Jen Jew Nigh Cha.” It’s a sweetened milk tea with black tapioca pearls. At the time we first tried it, this made-in-Taiwan drink challenged my American palate. I could not imagine what those black chunky nuggets were in the bottom of the drink. But as I sipped through the initial trial phase of this new drink, I became hooked. We probably drank 100’s of that same drink in the time we spent in Taiwan. Now you can find this drink all over in major metropolitan cities. Maybe you’ve heard of it?It’s called “Bubble tea.”
While we were in Taiwan, we also experienced other made-in-Taiwan treats. Late nite Taiwan is known for the thrill of night markets. At these night fairs, you could purchase many seemingly name brand items there. You could pick up a watch and it might actually say “Rolex.” Athletic shoes might don that characteristic swoosh and even say “Nike.” But, buyer, beware! It might look authentic at first glance… but a second or third look could reveal that “Rolex” got spelled with an “i” instead of an “l.” If you wanted a nearly genuine-looking Rolex you could get it for a really good deal. It looked the part in most aspects but only cost about 1/10th of the original. That’s nice when you’re on a budget.
The problem is, if this Rolex (or Roiex) stops working, no Rolex dealer will service this knock off watch. You might as well toss it in the bin and start over. There is nothing like the original.
The same is true for humans—there is nothing like the original.
The Bible says that our original production value was perfect. Perfect in attitude, perfect in performance, perfect in ability and appearance and so much more. We had a perfect designer and a perfect existence.
But Satan wanted to create a knock-off brand of humanity. He wanted to take God’s perfect creatures and make them like that Rolex I mentioned above: looking genuine on the outside but inside, something is not quite right. The quality is way off, and it starts to show itself after a few years, or even just days, of wear and tear.
In our newest series we’re going to explore the idea that we are wonderfully made, even in a fallen world. Psalm 139 declares this.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. // Psalm 139:13-14
It says that we are created by God; this should mean that we are like the unspoiled Rolex. But the reality is sad. What God had originally meant for perfection was sidelined and corrupted as Satan enticed Adam and Eve to snub their noses at God’s one piece of legislation.
Satan knew that one act of disobedience would create a vastly sub-par human. He knew that this would cripple our ability to relate with God and with each other because our inner workings were not the original model. A perfect heart was replaced by an envious and self-seeking heart that wallows in fear. A perfect body would now find crippling pain and bodily discomfort to be the norm. Our perfect connection to God was now crippled by our fear of God.
The Psalmist puts it this way:
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? // Psalm 139:5,7
The writer of Psalm 139 wants to run away from God because of the guilt and shame and brokenness he experiences. But God won’t leave him alone. Why?
The answer is simple: God has a deep personal attachment to what he has made. God is committed to bringing back his creation to its original perfect state. He is determined to reclaim a perfect relationship with his human work of art. Though stained and tainted and considered worthy of the garbage heap, God will not listen to Satan’s provocations and commits himself to shining up our inner parts and reconstructing our future.
He knew every laborious effort that must be applied to revamping and reconfiguring our twisted and broken existence. He knew that the cost was extensive. He could have started with a brand new out-of-the-factory model. Instead, God took the corrupted version, the one Satan was hoping would just be tossed away, and remade us. He remade in order to give us a bright and perfect future with him forever.
The Psalm writer shares this:
Even there (wherever I go) your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. // Psalm 139:10
His right hand holds me fast when he could have just as easily tossed me away. He holds me fast because I am—we are—his personal creation. He does not turn his back on anything that he has made. From beginning to end he works toward refurbishing us and making us whole.
This is going to be a big year, people of God. It will be a big year because our theme for 2020-2021 (our 100-year anniversary, by the way) is Wonderfully Made. In various ways we will discover God’s original intent for mankind. We will uncover what it means to be human while recognizing the difficulties of a “not-quite-Rolex” existence. Yet in the end, we will see that God’s hand and eyes and whole self is set on reclaiming us for himself. Let’s continue to praise him all year long because he has made and fashioned us.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” // Psalm 139:14
God bless!
Pastor Al