Who can have missed the massive response that has occurred both in the USA and in Britain following the killing of George Floyd? I want to use these posts through this week to re-examine and clarify what the Bible teaches on human life.
But let me start today by simply explaining why I want to look at it under the title of “the sanctity of human life”. Firstly there have always been some who see the life of animals as being as important as the lives of people. Against this, the Bible clearly and consistently speaks of human life as being of unique and higher importance than any animal. The creation account makes it absolutely clear that we have been created above and different to any animal –
Gen 1:26 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.”
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We have been created “in the image of God” and our God given mandate is to “have dominion over” all animal life.
But why don’t I simply intend to focus on the issue of the sanctity of black lives – after all that is what so many seem to be calling for at the moment? My answer is simply this: As far as God is concerned a black life is no different to a white life, or indeed to a life of any other colour. And since God is the arbiter of what is true, then a black life is no different to any other human life. The issue as far as God is concerned (and therefore as far as any Christian should be concerned) is not the sanctity of black life, but rather the sanctity of all human life.
And we get no clearer picture as to God’s concern for all peoples, then in the fact that in the end He will populate the New Heavens and Earth with men and women from every nation, tribe, language on earth:
Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Rev 5:10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
My dear friend, I want to go slowly in my progress this week as there has been far too much hasty response. So for today let me stop here – Every human life on this planet is important, indeed of equal importance outside of the grace of God. It has been created by God as being of greater worth than any animal for this reason: God created it to be capable of imaging Him! Of having a relationship with Him, and of reflecting His nature, His character, His image, in its own being.
How much do you appreciate the uniqueness of all human life in this regard? Tomorrow D.V. we will look at the Fall but first let’s stop and simply appreciate the wonder of what it means that every human being has been created in the image of God.