Cooking

The first time I put my youngest daughter in charge of fixing supper, we had an odd blend of clam chowder and black olives. I think she figured two cans of food covered all the food groups.

Today, however, she cooks fancy tomato basil soup and an elegant chicken dish that draws crowds.

I thought about her skills as I considered feet. Feet, by the way, are a curious thing in the Bible. Feet, in biblical terms, indicated authority. A king had rights over land touched by his feet. Those defeated were considered to be under the feet of their conquerors.

A psalmist many centuries ago wrote:

You made him [man] ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet. (Psalms 8:6)

So when God put everything under our feet, he meant we had authority to rule. I'm amazed, first, that he'd turn over the works of his hand to us. Look at what mankind has done to God's creation over the centuries.

This isn't about our worthiness. Do we deserve to be handed authority over God's creation?

How would my daughter have grown in her culinary skills if I had insisted she do it right the first time? I had to believe that she would learn and grow given opportunity. (And it took a little imagination after that first meal!)

God is more gracious than I am. He looks at his children and sees not bumbling failures but princes and princesses who can grow into their rule. He crowns his children and raises them to a lofty place that they have not earned.

Our response isn't to call ourselves master chefs, but shout this:

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalms 8:9