The Bible begins with this universal truth: God is the Creator. Not only are we all created by God; we’re also created a particular way, for a particular purpose. According to Genesis 1:27, all humanity bears the image of God.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.Genesis 1:27
Not only does God tell us that He is our Creator, He makes it very clear that we are made “in his own image.” This is another foundational truth of the Scriptures. Every human being is important in the eyes of God — because He creates each person in His image. This gives intrinsic value to every human life. You are important to God because you were made in His image. This is part of humanity’s universal identity.
And this is a radical truth — everyone we love is made in the image of God; but so was everyone we struggle to love. We don’t get to pick and choose on this one. God, as Creator, has determined that every human life matters because every human life bears His image.
When I was young, we sang a song about this in Sunday school. It was called “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” And the song said that everyone, no matter the color of their skin or their nationality, all are “precious in His sight.” Some of you might remember that song. It’s rooted in this idea from Genesis, the idea that God has created us to bear His image. Easy to apply to children, but what about grown ups? I think the point is the same…
So who is “precious in His sight?” Everyone.
- Male and female, they are precious in His sight
- Old and young, they are precious in His sight
- Rich and poor
- Christian and atheist and agnostic and Muslim and Buddhist — because they’re humans, they’re precious in His sight.
Now, there’s a lot more we could say from the Bible about differences in worldview and religion and all of that. But as important as those things might be, they flow out of an understanding that all humanity is precious in His sight.
And you can make the same application on the basis of economic status, race, sexual identity, political affiliation, etc.
- Your next-door neighbor and the homeless man on the street corner, they are precious in His sight
- African-American and Latino are precious in His sight
- Gay and straight are precious in His sight
- Boomer and Millennial are precious in His sight
- Conservative and liberal are precious in His sight
- Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi, both are precious in His sight
- Auburn fans AND Alabama fans
You can take this as far as you want to take it and the point is still the same. They are all “precious in His sight” because every human being throughout history has been made in the image of God. That is a bedrock truth in the word of God — one that we have to go back and recover from time to time.
God is your Creator. That means you are precious in His sight.