The making of this article began with the awareness of the death of Alton Sterling. Since then, too many other deaths have occurred and you have my permission to recall every single one of those lives as you continue to read this. In fact, I encourage you to. I beg you remember anyone you can, anyone you’ve ever encountered; remember both those whom have passed and those whose lives have not yet been stolen by the evils of death, those whom you love and those whom you cannot stand, those whom you constantly see and those whom you once saw, those whose stories have been shared by the media and those whose stories only you know. I mean this article for everyone, for everyone, is an image bearer of the holy God.
Image bearer-I constantly strive to remind myself of what I am, and more importantly, who I reflect. Image bearer-not only must I remember this of myself, but of others as well. Image bearer-an identity no man or woman can have taken away from them. Image bearer-God’s most adored piece of creation, a piece he treasured enough to willingly and purposefully die for.
Much like my understanding of knowledge, I shared in my last article, my understanding of people and their stories is that of awe. It amazes when I reflect on my life and all the people I’ve ever met, and then realize they’ve lived their own life, had their own thoughts and memories and dreams and encountered people who’ve affected their lives as well. It’s all a very interesting and exponential concept that can easily diminish your worth in the eyes of the world, since the world seems to favor statistics and place value based on how much money we make, how many likes we get on Instagram, how well we do what it wants us to…fill in the blank.
My goal is to remind you in this whisper how incredibly valuable you are. See, you are the product of divine creativity; an intentional treasure that God himself desires to interact with. With His own hands, he created the wondrous world we live in and decided it wasn’t enough and that man would be the piece of creation made after His own image. If a holy and righteous God creates something, considers it very good, and even after rejection from that creation He still deems it worthy enough to die on a cross for, I’d say that an immensely valuable treasure He’s created.
Alton Sterling is that creation regardless of what the world says.
Halema Al-Hasan is that creation regardless of where the world places her.
I am that creation regardless of my mistakes and sins.
You are that creation, in its entirety of the meaning; you are a treasured piece of beauty.
I hope you’re thinking “Oh, I already know this about myself,” or “I already knew that about Alton Sterling…Halema Al-Hasan…and everyone else,” and I really hope you’re thinking “What does this do for us now?” Well in so many words, when we actually see ourselves and others as worthy, it changes how we treat them. I mean when you see someone for how God sees them, it literally changes how you view every single person and how you respond to anything they say or do, regardless of any social barrier our world can come up with.
A professor of mine this past semester introduced me to Paris Reidhead’s sermon, “Ten Shekels And A Shirt.” For months I’ve been dwelling and meditating on the incredible words of truth overlaid in the sermon, playing the audio of it on YouTube again and again and again. The following is an excerpt of said sermon explaining the realization Reidhead came to after a seemingly failed mission trip to Africa.
“‘There alone in my bedroom as I faced God honestly with what my heart felt, it seemed to me I heard Him say, ‘Yes…will not the Judge of all the earth do right? The Heathen are lost. And they're going to go to Hell, not because they haven't heard the gospel. They're going to go to Hell because they are sinners, who love their sin! And because they deserve Hell. But, I didn't send you out there for them. I didn't send you out there for their sakes.’ And I heard as clearly as I've ever heard, though it wasn't with physical voice but it was the echo of the truth of the ages finding its' way into an open heart. I heard God say to my heart that day something like this, ‘I didn't send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen, I sent you to Africa for My sake. They deserved Hell! But I love them! And I endured the agonies of hell for them! I didn't send you out there for them! I sent you out there for me! Do I not deserve the reward of my suffering? Don't I deserve those for whom I died?’
Jesus came to Earth and lived a holy life simultaneously as God and as Man for the chance to be reunited with Alton Sterling.
He willingly obeyed God as he walked to the cross as a lamb to be slaughtered for sacrificed in order for a chance to be reunited with Halema Al-Hasan.
He died on the cross for the sins of man and the chance to be reunited with me.
And he rose again, defeating sin and death, all so that He could have a chance to be reunited with you, a piece of the beautiful treasure He purposefully created, constantly adores, and mightily deserves.
