The Person You Despise Bears God's Image
"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
There are people we disagree with.
There are people we find difficult.
And then there are people we have quietly decided are beneath us.
We may never say it out loud. We are more civilized than that. But contempt has a way of leaking through our faces, our jokes, our social media posts, and the tone we use when we tell a story about someone who is not in the room.
Genesis 1:27 puts every one of those people directly in front of us and asks a question: Do we believe what God says about them?
No Qualifiers
Look carefully at what Genesis 1:27 says, and at what it does not say.
It says God created mankind in His own image. It repeats the claim, then stretches it across humanity: "male and female he created them."
It does not say God made the strong in His image. Or the smart. Or the beautiful. Or the productive. Or the moral. Or the politically useful. It does not reserve God's image for the people who have their lives together or the people who make our lives easier.
There is no qualifier.
The political opponent whose posts raise your blood pressure bears God's image.
The addict who has lied, manipulated, and broken another promise bears God's image.
The prisoner the world has written off bears God's image.
The elderly woman who can no longer remember your name bears God's image.
The unborn child, the profoundly disabled adult, the frightened mother in a crisis pregnancy, the stranger who cannot repay your kindness - every one of them bears the image of God.
Full image. Full stop.
Defaced, Not Erased
Sin has done terrible damage to humanity. It has corrupted every part of us. But sin did not repeal Genesis 1.
After the Fall, Genesis 9 still grounds the sacredness of human life in the fact that humanity was made in God's image. James 3 warns us about cursing people who are made in God's likeness. The image can be defaced. It cannot be erased.
A person's worst moment does not "unmake" him as an image-bearer.
This does not mean we ignore evil, remove consequences, or pretend that every choice is equally harmless. Love is not moral blindness. Sometimes honoring an image-bearer requires telling the truth, establishing a boundary, calling for repentance, or protecting someone else from harm.
But contempt is never an option.
We may oppose what a person believes. We may grieve what a person has done. We may need to say no, step back, report a crime, or allow consequences to arrive. We are never permitted to call worthless what God stamped with His own image.
More Than a Political Position
This is why Christians defend unborn life. A child does not earn value by reaching a certain size, level of development, or degree of independence. That life matters because God made it.
But a biblical defense of human life must be larger than opposition to abortion.
If all our conviction does is make us angry about what we oppose, we have only followed Genesis halfway. To be for life also means honoring elderly people when the world treats them as burdens. It means welcoming people with disabilities, serving the poor, protecting the abused, visiting the imprisoned, and walking beside a frightened woman who believes she has no good options.
We must be for image-bearers with our time and love, not only with our opinions.
When Good Theology Makes Us Hard
Churches that love theology can become very good at winning arguments. We can define the imago Dei, defend it from error, and explain its implications.
Then we can drive home despising the person who lives in our own house.
Paul says that if we understand mysteries and possess knowledge but do not have love, we are nothing. A theology that makes us sharper in argument but harder toward people is not mature theology. It is theology that has not reached the heart.
The test is not whether we can explain the image of God. The test is whether that doctrine changes how we treat the person we least want to love.
Multiplication Moment
Whom are you tempted to describe with a label instead of a name?
Pray for that person every day this week. Ask God to remove contempt without removing discernment, and to give you the courage to treat that person with both truth and dignity.
Say it again:
"This person bears Your image."
This article was adapted from the Doctrine of Man Sunday School series, taught by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church.
There are people we disagree with.
There are people we find difficult.
And then there are people we have quietly decided are beneath us.
We may never say it out loud. We are more civilized than that. But contempt has a way of leaking through our faces, our jokes, our social media posts, and the tone we use when we tell a story about someone who is not in the room.
Genesis 1:27 puts every one of those people directly in front of us and asks a question: Do we believe what God says about them?
No Qualifiers
Look carefully at what Genesis 1:27 says, and at what it does not say.
It says God created mankind in His own image. It repeats the claim, then stretches it across humanity: "male and female he created them."
It does not say God made the strong in His image. Or the smart. Or the beautiful. Or the productive. Or the moral. Or the politically useful. It does not reserve God's image for the people who have their lives together or the people who make our lives easier.
There is no qualifier.
The political opponent whose posts raise your blood pressure bears God's image.
The addict who has lied, manipulated, and broken another promise bears God's image.
The prisoner the world has written off bears God's image.
The elderly woman who can no longer remember your name bears God's image.
The unborn child, the profoundly disabled adult, the frightened mother in a crisis pregnancy, the stranger who cannot repay your kindness - every one of them bears the image of God.
Full image. Full stop.
Defaced, Not Erased
Sin has done terrible damage to humanity. It has corrupted every part of us. But sin did not repeal Genesis 1.
After the Fall, Genesis 9 still grounds the sacredness of human life in the fact that humanity was made in God's image. James 3 warns us about cursing people who are made in God's likeness. The image can be defaced. It cannot be erased.
A person's worst moment does not "unmake" him as an image-bearer.
This does not mean we ignore evil, remove consequences, or pretend that every choice is equally harmless. Love is not moral blindness. Sometimes honoring an image-bearer requires telling the truth, establishing a boundary, calling for repentance, or protecting someone else from harm.
But contempt is never an option.
We may oppose what a person believes. We may grieve what a person has done. We may need to say no, step back, report a crime, or allow consequences to arrive. We are never permitted to call worthless what God stamped with His own image.
More Than a Political Position
This is why Christians defend unborn life. A child does not earn value by reaching a certain size, level of development, or degree of independence. That life matters because God made it.
But a biblical defense of human life must be larger than opposition to abortion.
If all our conviction does is make us angry about what we oppose, we have only followed Genesis halfway. To be for life also means honoring elderly people when the world treats them as burdens. It means welcoming people with disabilities, serving the poor, protecting the abused, visiting the imprisoned, and walking beside a frightened woman who believes she has no good options.
We must be for image-bearers with our time and love, not only with our opinions.
When Good Theology Makes Us Hard
Churches that love theology can become very good at winning arguments. We can define the imago Dei, defend it from error, and explain its implications.
Then we can drive home despising the person who lives in our own house.
Paul says that if we understand mysteries and possess knowledge but do not have love, we are nothing. A theology that makes us sharper in argument but harder toward people is not mature theology. It is theology that has not reached the heart.
The test is not whether we can explain the image of God. The test is whether that doctrine changes how we treat the person we least want to love.
Multiplication Moment
Whom are you tempted to describe with a label instead of a name?
Pray for that person every day this week. Ask God to remove contempt without removing discernment, and to give you the courage to treat that person with both truth and dignity.
Say it again:
"This person bears Your image."
This article was adapted from the Doctrine of Man Sunday School series, taught by Doug Modic at Cornerstone Bible Church.
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