You Are Truly Unique & Special

A couple of months ago I was in a conversation with a relative in which I shared that there is something in us that draws us to God…that it is because God’s divine spark is in us that we feel compelled to worship God. I noted that this makes us different from any other part of creation. At that point, she claimed there is no difference between humans and animals, based on her belief that because humans are animals, then we are the same as them and they are the same as us—we are nothing special and God is made up (according to her). There are many today who place animals on the same level as humans, seeing nothing special about humanity. I’m not saying that animals are not special (God created them after all), but what makes humans more special than even the animals?
 
In a recent midweek Bible study at the church, our group studied Genesis 1:26-27, which says: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We discussed the fact that, as human beings, we have divine attributes because we are created in God’s image. That’s not to say we have God’s abilities, but we recognize that we do share many of his characteristics. This simple observation has extraordinary implications with regard to how we view every human activity, as well as to how we view each other.
 
Animals, humans, and God all share emotions: joy, affection, sorrow, compassion, etc. Animals and humans share a number of attributes, such as a body that has cravings and the ability to feel shame when not living up to others’ standards. The feeling of guilt, however, is unique to humans. God certainly feels no guilt. Neither do animals since they cannot meditate on the past. Dogs, for example, might feel shame for disappointing their master but not feel guilt for violating their conscience. And there is a range of perceptions that humans share with God but not with animals: honor, time, beauty, language, love, and rule. All of these encompass what it means for humans to be made in God’s image.
 
When it comes to beauty, for instance, this is something that comes from God. From colors to shapes, from sight to taste to sound to smell, we admire beauty as a spiritual experience. We’re the only animals that make art, set a table for dinner, or rearrange the furniture. Even my relative would have to admit that her pets never would find joy in mastering the color combinations and skill she uses in coloring intricate details of coloring pages as she does. In his book Core 52, Mark Moore notes that no other animal sings. Birds and whales call; they don’t create music. Not only do we create beauty, but we also constantly create it. We change styles of hair and dress. We write new songs, create new instruments, and invent novel genres. We don’t just tell stories; we create new mediums for those expressions in books, film, plays, musicals, cartoons, sitcoms, and more. If you look around, unless you’re in the wild, there’s art in some form right now at your fingertips.
 
We can proclaim before God, as David did: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14).
 
Enjoy summer…it’s quickly passing,
Tyler

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