<\/p>\n
In a world marked by inequality, suffering, and sin, this is an important question. The deist might argue: \u201cNo one matters to God. He set the universe in motion but is now indifferent to its details, including humanity.\u201d Some professing Christians may claim: \u201cNot everyone matters to God. His concern is only for the elect.\u201d Yet both perspectives miss the mark. The truth remains: Every person matters to God.<\/p>\n
Genesis 1:27 says,<\/p>\n
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.<\/p>\n
God shaped Adam from the dust and formed Eve from Adam\u2019s 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\u2014traits that reflect God Himself.1 The Westminster Shorter Catechism highlights the ethical aspect of God\u2019s image: \u201cIn knowledge, righteousness, and holiness\u201d (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 \u201cadmittedly finite\u201d human whole.2<\/p>\n
The consequence of being made in God\u2019s 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 \u201cwith glory and honor\u201d (Ps. 8:5), and that honor persists even after the fall. Adam\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s image.<\/p>\n
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: \u201cFor he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good\u201d (Matt. 5:45). Even to the nations, God provides \u201crains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness\u201d (Acts 14:16\u201317). God is good, and His goodness extends to the ends of the earth, to both the just and the unjust. \u201cHis mercy is over all that he has made\u201d (Ps. 145:9).<\/p>\n
Dignity, respect, and care are owed to every person due to the divine imprint we bear.<\/p>\n
Thomas Watson said, \u201cEvery time we draw our breath we suck in mercy.\u201d3 The daily kindnesses of God toward mankind is a testimony of human value\u2014not 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\u2019s nineteenth-century hymn reminds us:<\/p>\n
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s patience, provision, protection, and moral restraint over a fallen world.<\/p>\n
Humanity is not inconsequential. God made man in His image and shows kindness to all. He does not take \u201cany pleasure in the death of the wicked,\u201d but rather \u201cthat he should turn from his way and live\u201d (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\u2019s incarnation shows that all people matter.<\/p>\n
James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith<\/em> (IVP, 1986) 150\u2013151. \u21a9<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics v. 2<\/em> (Baker Academic, 2004) 553\u2013562. \u21a9<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Thomas Watson, A Body of Practical Divinity<\/em> (Aberdeen: George King 1838), 346. \u21a9<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a world marked by inequality, suffering, and sin, this is an important question. The deist might argue: \u201cNo one matters to God. He set the universe in motion but is now indifferent to its details, including humanity.\u201d Some professing Christians may claim: \u201cNot everyone matters to God. His concern is only for the elect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[182,215,214],"class_list":{"0":"post-8636","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-study","8":"tag-god","9":"tag-matter","10":"tag-people"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}