|
 
Mark Twain
described the fate of all humans in these dismal words:
(Death)
comes at last - the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them
- and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,
where they achieved nothing, where they were a mistake and a
failure and a foolishness.
Oswald
Spengler, a leading evolutionist, tells us, "Mankind has
no aim, no idea, no plan, any more than a family of butterflies
or orchids." Between such negativism and the optimism of
Longfellow stretches a great battlefield. The basic point of
dispute: Are humans any better than animals? What makes me any
different from an endangered spider? Has a person's life more
value? What, after all, is the difference between my pet and
me? What makes me so special?
The Bible
portrays well our ground level view:
Man's fate
is like that of the animals . . . As one dies, so dies the other.
All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal.
Everything is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 3:19).
Psalm 49:12
captures the essence of our fear:
But man,
despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that
perish.
Such harsh
reality hardly supports Marx's allegation that religion is "the
opium of the people." Far from dulling and numbing, the
Bible stirs and challenges. "The word of God is living and
active, sharper than any double-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12).
What Marx and others failed to realize is that the honesty of
the Bible cuts both ways. It exposes human weakness and deals
with death. But, unlike modern philosophy, the Bible does more
than merely face our despair. It confronts it. It challenges
death as "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Instead
of supinely submitting, Scripture cuts back with the other side
of reality.
Yes, we
are like the animals. Yes, Scripture is realistic about our earthly
destiny. No, that is not the end of the story. The Bible is equally
truthful in revealing the brighter side (often ignored today),
that we are different from animals - and what a contrast! We
are different because we are similar to God Himself!
THE
IMAGE OF GOD
Then God
said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness . .
." (Genesis 1:26).
The image
of God makes us spiritual beings with potential far beyond anything
in the animal realm. We can appreciate the glory of a garden,
the wonder of a sunset, the potential of a brighter day. According
to Scripture, God's first gift to the living human was to surround
him with beauty.
Now the
LORD God had planted a garden . . . and there He put the man
He had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow
out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good
for food (Genesis 2:8-9).
Appreciation
leads to another unique quality, the capacity for thanks, for
praise, for prayer.
Praise
the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good (Psalm 106:1).
God is
good and "God is love" (1 John 4:8). To share His image
means to share in His unique ability to love. Thus the Creator's
generous hand formed for the first man his wife, his lover, the
mother of children (who in their turn should be loved).
God is
good. God is love. Yet God, as Creator of all, is also Ruler.
"The LORD is King for ever and ever" (Psalm 10:16).
To share His image implies a share in His ability to govern.
This is exactly what we find at creation.
Then God
said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and
let them rule. . . over all the earth" (Genesis 1:26).
The LORD
God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it
and take care of it (Genesis 2:15).
|
Tell
me not, in mournful numbers,
