The title of this little devotion is taken right out of Psalm 8:4, Where David is looking at the glory of the stars and wondering why God cares about such an insignificant group of troublemakers, or at least that's what I often wonder. I have so often heard that this universe is so vast, it can't be that there is life on this tiny planet only, could it? Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I know that God cares about His creation, whether that be on earth or some other galaxy. He loves His creation, and in His story to us, He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us, which is more glorious than the stars, but still begs the question, WHY?
Why does he care? We are an obstinate species that has for the most part turned our backs on our creator. We have truly not honored God or given Him thanks, "but we became futile in our thinking, and our foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, we became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things..." (Romans 1:21b-23). This has certainly resulted in some of the most heinous actions men have ever done to one another.
When I was in Iraq I visited the Amna Suraka, known as the "Red Prison" (Pictured Above), where many people were imprisoned during the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein, especially students, Kurdish nationalists, and other dissidents. Many were tortured and raped. The museum was extensive and held in the building once occupied by Baathist forces and then taken over by rebels. It highlighted years of abuse by Hussein's army and then ISIS in the past 10 years. What struck me, as did my visit to Auschwitz a few years ago, is how human beings can do this kind of thing to other human beings. And then of course my worldview has the answer, we are sinful to the core and are easily led astray by our fears, which beget hate for others. And as soon as we think that could never be me/us, I think of the horror of Rwanda barely 30 years ago. Most of the damage done was done by neighbors, friends, and relatives who believed false information that played on their fears, and that led to one of the greatest destructive killings known to man. We humans, as we drift from the truth of the gospel, and listen to fearmongers spill hatred and false information, are easy prey for tyranny to control us.
Despite this, and our constant rebellion, Christ came to earth to die for us! God is amazingly "mindful" of us, and His love is amplified in the backdrop of hate and darkness and evil that humanity continues to perpetrate onto one another. You would think that museums like this and the one in Auschwitz, would remind us to stop the violence, but it never does, and all I can say is God have mercy on our souls!