The tiny black and white photograph has faded to soft grays, but in the line-up of little children against the hulking sedan behind them, I can easily pick out my own image: wild blond curls from mid-summer humidity; dirt on my white sandals; a bruise on my leg from a tumble on the playground; and a dark Kool-Aid stain on my dress. I’d clearly had fun that morning at preschool at church.
At some point that morning, Mrs. Weaver, her straight brown and gray hair pulled into its usual neat bun, would have gathered us around her. “Okay, children. Let’s sing that new song we learned last week. Remember?”
She and her assistant, Mrs. Hinton, would sing it through once to refresh our memories. “Ready now?” she said. “Let’s sing.”
With varying degrees of attention and gusto, our little class sang,
“Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
That song runs like a soundtrack through many of my earliest memories. It’s a simple concept that’s timeless, ageless, true.
Here on Glimsen, I write about beauty in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. And, occasionally, in people.
I believe that the beauty around us isn’t random or coincidental. Beauty points beyond itself to a Creator, to God.
One place where we find beauty that points to God is in people. The Bible says that God created humans in His image. Whatever beauty we have in us is because of His image.
Every member of the human race has intrinsic worth. Not because of skin color, or education, status, class, birth, age, giftedness, or money. But because of whose image we bear.
After God made man and woman, he saw that his creation was very good.
Humanity was his masterpiece.
God’s image is perfect: good, beautiful, and true.
But his image in us is marred by sin—by hatred, murder, racism, violence, rage, oppression, bitterness, lying, envy, slander. Things like this make it harder to see his image in other people and in ourselves.
Sadly, crimes against humanity happen all the time, and now a virus is taking lives all over the world. When the news is bad or overwhelming, we can harden our hearts against the pain and suffering. We can think in terms of convenient stereotypes or speak in terms of statistics, numbers, and graphs.
But in the face of loss, we must not forget the value of human life. Of one life, or of many.
During his three years of ministry, God’s Son Jesus gave two commands that apply to pretty much everything else He said: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).
Love them, even if they are different from us. Even if they look, act, and speak differently. Even though they are imperfect, flawed, and sinful, like us. Like me and you.
We are all of us his image-bearers. Precious in His sight. And what’s staggering is that, to Him, we were worth the life of his Son Jesus, who came to take away the sin that mars his image in us, to restore us to relationship with him, to give this life meaning, and to set us free. Forever.
I'm honored that you've taken time out of your day to stop by my blog, Glimsen. Here at Glimsen, I share glimpses of the beauty around us in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. If you like what you see, click the blue button below to receive my posts and updates by email, and you'll also get a free gift of beauty in your inbox (see below). I look forward to connecting with you!
Photo credits:
Toddler upside down: Photo by Maura Silva on Unsplash
Little boy in the water: Photo by Frank McKenna on StockSnap
Father and daughter: Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash
Woman with glasses: Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Man with beard: Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash
Women in colorful headdresses: Photo by Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma'aji on Unsplash
Man in checked shirt: Photo by David Rotimi on Unsplash
Smiling woman, eyes closed: Photo by Loren Joseph on Unsplash