Day 19

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and all the creatures that move along the ground’. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” — Genesis 1:26-27

Nothing in all creation is more valuable than human life. Genesis 2:7 says, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” The word ‘breath’ is the Hebrew word ‘ruach’, which can be legitimately translated as ‘spirit’. There is no other living being on earth that can be described as ‘spiritual’. God breathed His own Spirit into the human body, which was designed to be the habitation of God, Himself.

The first thing God said about humanity was, “Let us make man in our image.” That is not a physical image, but a moral one, meaning we were created to express God’s moral character. This is not possible by imitating God, but by His indwelling Spirit being Himself in us. But since the fall in the Garden of Eden, in which Adam died spiritually, forfeiting the presence of God in his life, we are born separated from the Spirit of God, and are no longer His dwelling place; therefore, incapable of expressing his character. The gospel is restoring the presence of God into human experience, so that God makes His home in the hearts of His people; those who have been reconciled to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

If we want to know the value God places on a human life, we have to look at the cross of Jesus. Nothing shouts as loud and clear about the value of human life than God, becoming a man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to take the wrath of God upon Himself. He died as our substitute so that we may be reconciled to God on the basis that justice has been done, sin has been paid for. John writes in 1 John 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’.

Forgiveness is not the end, but a means to an end. The end is that on the basis of our forgiveness, we may be reconciled to God, indwelt by His life, which saves and sanctifies us. Paul writes in Romans 5:10, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I am overwhelmingly grateful for the value you place on my life. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice of your son, who made it possible to be reconciled to you, and then to actually become the dwelling place of your spirit here on earth. help me to live in the strength of your indwelling presence.

To reflect upon: Have I ever really stopped to think of the immense value God has placed on my life? Is there anything in all the world I could compare it with? How can I better respond to God so that the value He has placed on my life is evident?