The Imago Dei - Genesis 2:15-25

The last week has been awful.

Well, Sarah and Caleb had a beautiful wedding, but other than that....video of George Floyd being murdered by a police officer with his knee on Floyd's neck, while Floyd repeatedly says, "I can't breathe".  Protests, Facebook posts, Riots, Talking Heads with a variety of opinions and speculation.   There is just a blanket of sadness and angst hanging in the air.  

It's frustrating.  

And exhausting.

And at the same time, I recognize the importance of staying "in" it, instead of fleeing.  Instead of moving on.  My black friends can't just move on, and so regardless of my privilege which would allow me to sweep it under the rug and find other things to focus on, I choose to stay.  

It's hard to get to the root of some of the arguments I'm hearing.  

It's about police brutality

It's about respect for the rule of law

It's about ALL lives

It's about systemic racism

It's about looting

It's about injustice

And in these all these arguments, perhaps we're missing the point.  When it comes down to it, the thing that is making most people angry, on both sides of the issue, is how we VALUE people/things.  George Floyd's murder is heinous because he has VALUE as a human being, made in the image of God.  Some are more concerned about the looting than the racial injustice, because they VALUE order and rules more than human life.  Some value themselves and their way of life....others value justice and equality and fairness.

In Genesis 2:15-25, we see a clear difference between the value of animals and of humans.  Animals are made from the dirt (super cool, btw), but HUMANS are made in the image of GOD.   Distinction between animals and humans.   But there is NO distinction between humans.  We are ALL image bearers of the most high God.  We ALL have his stamp on us.  We ALL resemble our Father.   

And that is why this week has been so hard for me.  I am hurt for my black friends whose value has been questioned again and again and again.  I am frustrated with people I know and love who can't see how hurtful their words and fearful rhetoric are.  Black lives matter.  White lives matter.  All lives matter because we're all the same in the eyes of God.  But right now, it's the black lives that are in danger, so we stand.