In God's Image

“Whoever sheds human blood,

by other humans

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image

God has made humankind.”

(Genesis 9:6 NET)

God values human life. He values it so much that he requires the life be taken from anyone who kills another human being. God made humans in his own image and this is the reason he values each human life so highly.

Our true significance, then, lies in the image of God that we bear. God sees the reflection of himself in each one of us, and that is why each life is so important to him. It is not our ability or our complexity, but simply our humanity, because being human makes us bearers of God’s image.

We aren’t told exactly what being made in God’s image entails, so we need to be careful when we define the image of God. I’ve seen lists of things that being made in God’s image includes, like rationality, the ability to make choices, and delegated dominion over the earth, and undoubtedly these are part of the picture. But it seems to me that it’s more correct to think of these things as traits that result from being made in God’s image rather than traits that define it. The essence of image bearing is simply being human. 

The problem with writing lists of traits to help define what it means to be made in God’s image is that for every list, there will human beings unable to do what’s listed. There will be human beings who are less able to do what’s listed than some animals are, yet have much more value to God because when he looks at them he sees his own image. Animals are certainly important to him because they are his handiwork; I have no doubt that he enjoys them and values them—and so should we. Humans are God’s handiwork too, but we have more going for us. What makes humankind more significant than the rest of God’s creatures is that human beings are the ones who carry his image. If someone is human, they are of great value to God, and they should be of great value to us, too.

It really doesn’t matter whether a particular human life can interact with us or is even aware it exists. These things aren’t factors in the value God places on a life and shouldn’t be factors in the value we place on it, either. If the life is human, we need to value it as a life made in God’s image and do what we can to preserve it and care for it. God, whose image it is that gives each human life its value, has a unique right to either take human life or stipulate the circumstances under which it is permissible and right for it to be taken. 

“Thou shalt not kill” isn’t a commandment I’m likely to break—not directly, anyway. But am I keeping it? What am I doing to show that I value all human life the way God does? How am I working to preserve it? What am I doing to care for others made in God’s image? 

Comments

[rosemary]

Great post, Rebecca. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this as it pertains to abortion and disabled people, but not nearly enough as it concerns every person created.

[Michael Snow]

It is also important to remember that God tells us the reason for that command in Genesis:

So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. --Num. 35

And, thus, we are thankful that God values human life so that he sent his Son to be the complete and final atonement for all sin.