Sharing Words and Pictures as Though Humans are Made in the Image of God
I think a lot about words, and how to use them well.
This can be challenging, and I’m still learning a lot.
But I think my starting point is this: I must remember that all humans are made in the image of God.
Genesis 1: 26-27 tells us:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Before anything else, when I encounter another person, I should think, “image bearer.” I should think, “this person was created in the image of God, and therefore is a person of worth.”
This applies equally to everyone, whether they live next door to me, or thousands of miles away. It applies to the teenager who is living on the street, the mother who is struggling to feed her family, the man fighting drug addiction, the woman trapped in prostitution, and the child who goes hungry at night. It even applies to my neighbor who I’d rather not be my neighbor.
If each of these people, bears the image of God, was knit together in the womb by Him, and is known by their Creator, their Creator who deeply desires a relationship with them, their Creator who loved them so much He sent His Son to die on the cross to redeem them from their sins and bring them into right fellowship with Him…how should I talk about these people? How should I write about them? What images should I share about them?
Certainly, I should speak and write words and share images of them as though I believed they are in fact people of worth who bear the image of their Creator and are deeply loved by Him.
This is what I want to do.
My goal is to tell ethical and engaging stories that uphold the dignity of all people, helping the Church in North America to see the image of God in others, so that the Church may love well, be more aware of God’s work in the world, and be able to pray, speak, give, and go more intentionally.
I’m still learning how to do this well, but I think that remembering that people are made in the image of God is a good place to start.
