In a world marked by inequality, suffering, and sin, this is an important question. The deist might argue: “No one matters to God. He set the universe in motion but is now indifferent to its details, including humanity.” Some professing Christians may claim: “Not everyone matters to God. His concern is only for the elect.” Yet both perspectives miss the mark. The truth remains: Every person matters to God.
The Image of God
Genesis 1:27 says,
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God shaped Adam from the dust and formed Eve from Adam’s rib. This was the pinnacle of creation. Only humanity was made in the likeness of God. James Montgomery Boice describes this image as encompassing attributes of personality, morality, and spirituality—traits that reflect God Himself.1 The Westminster Shorter Catechism highlights the ethical aspect of God’s image: “In knowledge, righteousness, and holiness” (Q&A 10). Herman Bavinck explains further that the image of God touches body and soul. It is God placing His virtues and perfections in an “admittedly finite” human whole.2
The consequence of being made in God’s image is that people matter. God is the highest of all beings, and humanity is fashioned after Him, endowed with His communicable attributes. Just as God is wise, good, and loving, so too was man created to mirror those same qualities. God has crowned mankind “with glory and honor” (Ps. 8:5), and that honor persists even after the fall. Adam’s sin in the garden marred the image of God. Sin corrupted every part of our being. However, the image of God has not been destroyed.
The twentieth-century Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse likened the fallen image to a three-story house that has been bombed. The top floor has been obliterated. The second has been significantly damaged. The bottom is in bad shape and is destined to collapse. And yet, it is still a house. Man has been made in the image of God. Though shattered and cracked, the likeness remains. The implication is that every life has value, regardless of status, actions, or beliefs. Dignity, respect, and care are owed to every person due to the divine imprint we bear. People matter because they are made in God’s image.
The Kindness of God
People also matter because they matter to God. This is seen in the kindness God has shown, which we see in the doctrine of common grace: “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Matt. 5:45). Even to the nations, God provides “rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16–17). God is good, and His goodness extends to the ends of the earth, to both the just and the unjust. “His mercy is over all that he has made” (Ps. 145:9).
Dignity, respect, and care are owed to every person due to the divine imprint we bear.
Thomas Watson said, “Every time we draw our breath we suck in mercy.”3 The daily kindnesses of God toward mankind is a testimony of human value—not because of any merit in man, but because man is the gracious object of His providential care. Princes and paupers matter because God blesses both. Regardless of power, position, or possessions, God shows His goodness to all. Johnson Oatman’s nineteenth-century hymn reminds us:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
This is the unfolding of providence. God guides and governs all His creatures and their actions. As the events of life unfold, according to His purposes, He dispenses His good gifts with perfect wisdom.
God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). In His forbearance, He does not deal with humanity immediately as their sins deserve. He is patient toward sinners (Rom. 2:4). Moreover, God restrains evil. He prevents people from sinning in certain ways at certain times (Gen. 20:6). Although we are depraved, our depravity is mercifully restricted. The wicked heart does not run as wild as it could. Common grace is everything good shown to mankind short of salvation. It includes God’s patience, provision, protection, and moral restraint over a fallen world.
The Incarnation of God
Humanity is not inconsequential. God made man in His image and shows kindness to all. He does not take “any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” but rather “that he should turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 18:23). If man did not matter, the perfect likeness of God in the form of man and the ultimate expression of His kindness in Christ would not be known. The fact that God became incarnate and then suffered in Christ shows how mankind matters. Man matters so much that the Lord of glory took to Himself a true body and a reasoning soul (WSC 22) and then went to the cross. God assumed our likeness to save sinners. Though all are not saved, the Son’s incarnation shows that all people matter.
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James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith (IVP, 1986) 150–151. ↩
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Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics v. 2 (Baker Academic, 2004) 553–562. ↩
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Thomas Watson, A Body of Practical Divinity (Aberdeen: George King 1838), 346. ↩
