“Imago Dei”. The idea is that human beings are created in God’s image, therefore, they have intrinsic value and are to be treated as such. This is honestly one of my most cherished Christian doctrines. In the western world, whether you are Christian or secular, almost everyone has a sense of this idea of human value. Somehow, we know human lives ought to be cherished and protected. Somehow, we know it’s evident that humans have equality in value and dignity. I am very thankful that I live in a society where these ideas still flourish for the most part.
Most people I know treat one another decently. But that’s really it, decent. Once a certain line is crossed, that decency is off the table. Likewise, throughout history, there always have been people groups that are treated as less than human. I would argue that kind of prejudice still exists today, less severe, to be sure. As Christians, we are to treat human dignity VERY seriously. Why do we refrain from sins such as murder or lying? Because human beings are sacred and reflect God, sinning against a human is tarnishing God’s image. Why do we refrain from sins such as sexual immorality? Because we ourselves are made in God’s image, the same principle as before.
Jesus ups the bar. He takes the Jewish idea of “Imago Dei” and love and shows their true universal meaning. Followers of Christ ought to take things a step further. Why? Because Christ died for sinners (the least deserving), we are to emulate His example of love. This is why we ought to show self-sacrificial love to even our enemies. We will talk about what exactly this “love” is in future comics.
My worry is that we simply do not take this seriously. We have become far too selfish. We can’t even love wholeheartedly those whom we enjoy being around. Yet the bar is so high that we are supposed to love those whom we HATE being around. Let us die to ourselves daily, remember that we were once wretched sinners, yet Christ was not repulsed by us and granted us the greatest form of love. Let us go do likewise. People need love, let’s give it.
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