I was shaken by the death of that young man. The reason I am telling you this is because I want to make a point regarding the capacities with which God created people. Suppose, while I was on that scene, a stray dog happened to trot by; how much impact would that scene have had on that dog? How would the mind of a passing pigeon have dwelt upon that scene? The concept really is laughable that such creatures could drink in the full implications of such a tragedy. They do not have the capacities necessary to stop in shock, appreciate the value of life and the value of this young man before God and to his family. They are not able to grasp the sorrow that the news of his violent will bring to the deepest recesses of every person who knew and loved him. Human beings on the other hand have those capacities.

Just as I was so emotionally absorbed by that scene, the horror of the crash, the death of the boy’s father in the seat next to him, the death of the driver from the other side of the road who had caused the collision, and now the death of the boy I was helping, so also, God has created human beings with the capacities to be completely absorbed by a myriad of other things in the range of human life. I have used only one incident and have spoken of only one capacity—mercy; yet the whole of human life teems with moments that are crammed with opportunities to use your human faculties, or capacities.

Think of the wonderful moment of getting married. You are so young, life is so exciting, the groom is overwhelmed that such an outstanding young woman would give herself to him. She is enraptured by the romance, the celebration, friends celebrating with her, seeing her on the most wonderful day of her life! You as a human being have the capacity to completely appreciate an event like that in view of all of its significance. In the case of marriage, as love matures, it becomes even more significant and meaningful.

When God created human beings, He created a being with such a rich experience of life that his existence of a vastly higher quality than the existence of any other form of life on earth (we won’t speak about angels for now). In Psalm 139:13-16, David is swimming in the marinade of delight as he simply considers the way God formed him in his mother’s womb. His appreciation however goes far beyond that. He not only has the ability to notice that he exists, but that he exists in a delightful form! Beyond that, he is able to appreciate and express the delight he experiences as a result being in this form of existence. He not only lives is an unspeakably wonderful body, but he has a mind that is able to grapple with personal relations and the significance of person to person interaction.

What God has made when He made man—contrary to what many think—is not just another animal, but something inconceivably more wonderful. He has made a being more like Himself than any other creature in the universe.