Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Humanity

Genesis 1v27 & 4v7 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them…. ‘But, sin … desires to have you’”

As we continue in our “Statement of Faith”, our fourth statement is, “We believe in … The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.”

When it comes to understanding humanity, we hold to the fact that there are both positive and negative elements for each individual. Reflecting on this statement, I notice the following:

  • Firstly and positively, all people, of every “protected characteristic” and other characteristics – that is of every age, race, language, gender, creed, sexuality, marital-status, disability, identity and worldly-status – carry the image of God as descendants of Adam. We, as God’s people, look for God’s image in each person and want to celebrate that image, and welcome each individual with dignity. This raises the question for me: Are there people to whom I fail to show full dignity as bearers of the image of God?
  • Secondly and positively, God has a purpose for each of us. That purpose is not to climb a career ladder, or acquire the status of wealth, or even to experience pleasure. His purpose, common to us all is that we, “love, are holy and care for creation”. None of us are excluded from these universal purposes. God has a purpose for you, your neighbour, your work colleague. This raises the question: Am I living in line with God’s underlying purpose?
  • Finally and negatively, as we know full well, the reality is that the image of God in each person is corrupted by sin. The result is that we no longer live out His purpose for us. We do not show perfect love, holiness and care. We fall short. This has consequences when we stand before our Creator and his wrath and judgment is cast on sin. This leads us to the Saviour to whom we will come another week. But this also leads to an important distinction in our dealing with people around us which is often couched in the largely helpful phrase, “love the sinner, but hate the sin.”

May the Lord fill us with a love for those around us that recognises their dignity in the image of God, but also a sensitivity to the sin in our own lives.

With love and blessing,

Roland