Set Apart

I begin with a statement: The essence of humanity is spiritual. There is logic and emotion, yes, but that is not what makes a person, a person. In the beginning, the world was created - the oceans, the land, the animals, and the heavens. Then, God created man. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27). What sets us apart is that we were created in the image of God.

The question at this point becomes, what does that mean? Does God have two legs and arms, a head full of hair, a sense of smell? I do not think it is our physical nature that the Bible is referring to, but the spiritual nature of man that was created in God's image. That is what sets us apart from all the other creatures on the earth.

Nothing in the physical world gives us salvation; it is through faith, by a decision of the heart, a decision of our spirit to accept and follow Christ that we rise from the fall and come to God again. For many years, physical offerings were given to God for forgiveness. Ultimately, however, it was a spiritual offering that brought salvation to the entire world. "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." (John 5:25). If the essence of humanity is not spiritual, then how could it be that those who are dead physically can still hear the word of God and chose life? Humanity is spiritual, and that spirit was created in God's image, and that is what sets us apart from the rest of creation.

This has great significance today. For example, in the debate about homosexuality, some people justify it by saying it is natural and point to species of, say, African frogs that can change sex on call. However, though frogs are a part of creation and received the breath of life (See Gen 1:30), they were not set apart and created in God's image. Men have a higher calling than frogs and the rest of creation. We are called to serve God and submit to Him in love because He loves us. There is a specific prohibition against homosexuality in the book of Leviticus, and we must follow it.

Another example is in the abortion debate. When does life begin? Life begins at conception with the zygote. God knew us before and during our growth in our mother's womb (Jer 1:5). The physical status of a person does not correlate to his or her spiritual status. If we are spiritual, then abortion must be murder, since the spirit already resides in the mother's womb no matter the size of child.

This particular blog entry may offend some people who think they can't help but be homosexual or that it is woman's body, she may do as she chooses. We all belong to God because He created us. We are called to treat our bodies as temples to the Lord. That is so very important when living in a culture of pleasure, gratification, and sin.