13 “Oh that You would hide me in [j]Sheol,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 “If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.
15 “You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for the work of Your hands.
16 “For now You number my steps,
You do not observe my sin.
17 “My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You [k]wrap up my iniquity.18 “But the falling mountain [l]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You destroy man’s hope.
20 “You forever overpower him and he departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 “His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 “But his [m]body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”
In the middle of what seems a pretty pessimistic passage is a stunning statement. In verse 15, Job says “You will call, and I will answer You;” This doesn’t seem very noteworthy though. If God calls us, we ought to answer, even if many ignore Him. Yet why does God call to us in the first place? Does He call the bluebird or the eagle? Does He say, “Hey you, Mr. Orangutan, I’ve got a message for you!”
Certainly God cares for them and directs their coming and their going, but there is no interaction, as the created being is hardly aware of themselves, let alone the hand of the Creator. Yet it is not so with humanity, and Job states without hesitation, “You will long for the work of Your hands.” Think about that for a minute, let it sink in.
The Creator of the Universe, whose bounds we cannot comprehend, created you, created me, and did it on purpose. And more than that, God calls to us, to each of us. God calls us to come to Him, to leave our filth and rags and put on His righteousness, to marvel in His grace and love, to revel in the splendor of His creation like no one else can.
Some would like to say we are no more than evolved monkeys, but that is an insult to both the monkeys and us. They are far more advanced than any mere accident could ever account for, and yet so far above them, God created us in His own image. As I was thinking about this, Psalm 8:5 comes to mind, and while there is debate about the translation, it is clear that we are created to be unique and special.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “It is a serious thing… to remember that the dullest, most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship… There are no ordinary people.” Why? So that God almighty, who needs nothing or no one, could long for His creation, and desire our company–to know us and to make Himself known to us.
You may think yourself ordinary, you may think yourself plain or worse, ugly and homely or despicable and unlovable. But I tell you (and He tells you) that He longs for you as no one on this earth has ever longed for anything. That is a fact both humbling and staggering, do not take it for granted, but seek to know Him more and choose Him above all else.