"We're only human after all"
Sunday 10th August 2025
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14)
‘We’re only human after all’
“I’m only human after all” – so sang Rag’N’Bone Man. It was more about his weakness as a human – that we are made as imperfect, limited people. As the song continues ‘don’t put your blame on me.’
In some ways we can affirm the sentiment of the song – I am reading a good book at the moment called ‘You’re only Human’ which reflects on this. It is about our finitude (the condition or state of being finite and limited). The author, Kelly Kapic, shows us in the book how finitude is one of the unavoidable aspects of being a creature and not the Creator. And yet, we are also responsible in how we respond to our limits.
Kapic in his book shows us how part of the sin of Genesis 3 was Adam and Eve’s disdain for their creaturely limits, as he puts it, ‘being finite creatures, even made in the divine image, was simply not enough.’And so ever since then, we, like our spiritual parents can play the game of seeking to be like our Creator and rejecting our creaturely limits.
Denying our finitude can lead us to think that the weight of the world depends on us, and it can be exhausting. This deceit shows up in many different ways: “not just in our unrealistic expectations about how much we can accomplish in a day but also in our failure to value rest and slow-growing relationships…Christians often burn out from overcommitment to church activities or ministries; or they go to the opposite extreme, never volunteering for anything because they fear the unending demands that will come once they have committed.”
The book sets out to show us some of the joys of being a creature and to question some of the unrealistic ideals we often have. We’re not required to be infinite – that’s reserved for God alone! So as we learn more about our identity as vulnerable, finite, limited, sinful creatures, so we will learn to depend on the grace of our infinite, everlasting God.
Maybe Rag’N’Bone Man was partly right – I am only human after all! And as the Bible adds for the Christian: finite, vulnerable, sinful, and yet infinitely loved as a precious son or daughter of God through Jesus. As Kapic puts it, “we must learn the value and truthfulness of our finitude, eventually getting to the point where we might even praise God for our limits.” So please pray for me this summer – that as I read this book, it will lead me to see more of my own limits and finitude (it can be a hard lesson to learn) and so depend all the more on our everlasting God and the grace found in Jesus.
Dear God, thank you that I am finite, vulnerable, limited and yet despite my sin, loved as a precious son or daughter of yours through faith in Jesus. Help me to rejoice in and depend on you, our infinite, wise, good and gracious God all the more as a result. Amen
With love in Christ,
Ben Wells (Associate Minister)