THE IMAGE OF GOD, HUMAN VALUE, and THE GOSPEL
Made in His Image
If human beings are not intrinsically valuable at conception, then there is nothing to instill intrinsic value in us at any point thereafter. If human beings are not intrinsically valuable at conception, then any attainment of value is solely based on what we do or later become. If human beings are not intrinsically valuable at conception, then any value later attributed to us must have been gained through some means other than being made in the image of the LORD. To deny intrinsic value at conception is to assert that any value later attributed to the individual must have been gained through means of his own making. If our value is attained at any other point, then it is not the Creator who gives us our value but ourselves. Is that not the very antithesis of Scripture?
The unequivocal truth is that we are valuable solely because we were created in the image of the LORD. Acknowledging our intrinsic value compels us to acknowledge the Creator of the universe. We are intrinsically valuable because we were created. That and that alone gives us our value. It is just as impossible to change the individual’s value as it is to change the day we are meant to rest.
What we must realize is that denying our value has both sobering and alarming implications. By rejecting the individual’s intrinsic value at conception, we rob her of her intrinsic value for the remainder of her life. A person who lacks intrinsic value at the beginning of her life will have no intrinsic value at the end of life, or, at any day in between. The consequences of denying the sanctity of human life are not allocated to abortion alone. They affect every area of life, from its beginning to its end.
The Gospel Message
What is the gospel? Jesus loves you. He made you. He died for you. Believe in Him and be set free.
Consider for a moment: does the denial of the sanctity of life directly affect our effectiveness in spreading the gospel? There remains an undeniable reality in the sanctity of life conversation: to deny the sanctity of life at its conception is to deny the Creator’s sovereignty, power and authority; and, to rob an individual of her intrinsic value is to deprive her of the assurance that she was made in the image of her Creator. Why? Because stripping an individual of their intrinsic value necessitates that their value be attained through some means separate and apart from their Creator. It necessitates that the individual use some other means of proving and obtaining her value.
How can we call the world to honor its Creator and “worship Him who made,” while simultaneously declaring that this same Creator who is supposedly worthy of our worship, is not sovereign enough to bestow intrinsic value on His creation? In failing to honor the sanctity of human life, we make the image of GOD irrelevant, essentially declaring that being created in His image is simply not enough. That is not the message of the Old Testament. It is not the message of the New Testament; and it is not the message that will ring through eternity. Rather, the message of the Word-Made-Flesh is that He created all, He died for all, and in honoring the value of His creation, we honor Him.
To honor the sanctity of life is to proclaim the gospel message. It points us back to our Creator as the one who established our value. It points us back to our Redeemer as the one who fortified that value at the Cross. The sanctity of life invites us into the gospel truth: The LORD made us. He redeemed us. He defines us, has established our worth and invites us to worship Him.
Thumbnail art by Bill Osborne | http://www.billosborne.com/