The Worth of a Human Being.

On Sunday, I was reminded of the beginning of our existence. The sermon mentioned the days of creation. As I was listening, I was reminded of other aspects that I learned about creation

We all know the story of creation. God created everything in 6 days and rested the 7th day. But if you think about it, creation is broken down into two categories. There is nature, and there is mankind.

God created all of nature in the first 5 days. He saw that everything that He created was good. If you don't believe me, read through Genesis 1. At the end of every creation, "God saw that it was good."

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good..." Genesis 1:3-4

"God called the dry ground, 'land,' and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:10

All of nature was inherently good in God's eyes. But here's the amazing thing. God says something different when he creates man.

"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

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31

Mankind is set apart from the rest of God's creation because we are created in the image of God. Also, God saw that we were very good. Here's a unique analogy that Jefferson Bethke shared.

If we are created in the image of God, we are a reflection of God's glory. Think of it this way. We are like mirrors. As God looks down upon us, we reflect His image/glory across all of creation. We are what completes God's 6-day masterpiece. Our job is to shine His glory all across nature.

But when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they became corrupt and broken. Think of it this way. The mirror is now hit with a hammer. That mirror is shattered. Everything that mirror reflects is distorted. So how can a broken mirror accurately reflect the glory of God? It can't. 

In the beginning, everything was perfect. Nature was inherently good. Man was a perfect image of God. But once mankind sinned against God, everything became ruined. Think about it. The human race is destroying everything on earth. If mankind was never corrupt, there would never be wars, global warming, human trafficking, drug abuse, etc.

We ruined everything. And yet, God still wants to have a relationship with us. He sent his only son to fix us. We can't fix ourselves. A broken mirror can't replace a broken mirror. Only a perfect mirror can replace a broken one. So that leads me to a song that I've been listening to.

"the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

God gave us His breath of life. And He never regretted doing so. Even though we messed everything up, even though we are completely broken, pieces of junk, flawed, He still loves us. He wants to have a relationship with us, still. Take a listen to this song.

"It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise."