All Human Life is Valuable! Genesis 1:26-27

In our culture it is easy to forget that all people are important and valuable.  It doesn't matter what ethic group someone is, or what age (including unborn), or health--all people are important because all people are made in the image of God.

The Bible says this about us being made in the image of God:

Genesis 1:26-27  Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Because all people are made in the image of God, all people have value and worth.  This truth found in Genesis 1:26-27 is important to embrace since there is a tendency among people to elevate one group of people over another.

Here are several reason how Genesis 1:26-27 impacts our relationships between one another:

1. Genesis 1:26-27 teaches us that all people bear God's image and therefore have a right to life (unborn, the elderly, the sick, the imperfect).
2. Genesis 1:26-27 teaches us that all people have a right to be treated equally--no prejudice between skin tone, gender, wealth, or career--since all are made in God's image.  
3. Genesis 1:26-27 teaches us that all people have One Creator and therefore, One Savior (1 Timothy 2:3-6).
4. Genesis 1:26-27 teaches us human life if more important than animal life--God gave the animals to humanity to have dominion over.

There are more reasons, but I will limit my list to the ones that dominate my thoughts as I ponder Genesis 1:26-27.  I hope you see the implication of either believing these verses from Scripture or not believing.  It is in my opinion obvious to see the results everyday of what happens when people don't live according to these verses: murder, lying, hatred, war, slander, etc. . . In a nut shell, the evil we see between man and man can almost be entirely linked to the fact that most people do not see each other as being made in the image of God.  If people really saw one another as they truly are seen by God, there would be a lot more compassion and mercy in this world.  

Fortunately, although most people do not understand Genesis 1:26-27, there is One who fully understands its meaning: The Lord God who created you.  He created you in His image because He wanted to have eternal fellowship with you.  He loves you with a perfect love (Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8-10).  He always will treat you justly (Obadiah 1:15).  He always will treat you with respect (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11).   My question I leave with you is have you reciprocated your love toward Him by believing what He says in His Word is true and that all that Christ did to pay for your sins against Him was for you?  

If you believe His Word, and believe in Christ, you will fulfill the purpose that He originally created you for.  In addition, as a result of your eternal relationship with the Creator, you will then be able to treat others with the same value that God treats all people.

Pastor Steve

Psalm 119:89