And God said, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.” Genesis 1 v 26 (KJV)
When you go to the supermarket, the person who gives you the receipt is, according to God’s word, made in the image and likeness of God.
When you are in the bank or Post Office or paying your fare on a bus or buying a train ticket, you are dealing with a human being made in the image and likeness of the Almighty God.
That is the Christian view – a sobering thought.
The contrast may be seen very clearly in the behaviour of the Nazi regime under Hitler.
When captives, of whatever ilk, were sent to concentration camps, they were given a number which was imprinted on their arm.
Henceforward, they were always identified by that number, never by name. Their human identity was effectively erased; they were ‘untermenschen’ (subhuman).
Since they were no longer human, anything could be done to them – and usually was – to their detriment.
Departure from the Biblical view of humankind, made in the image and likeness of God, inevitably leads to the possibility and then the practice of evil.
Prayer: Thank you, heavenly Father, that I am made in your image and likeness.
Help me, by your Holy Spirit, to bring honour to your name in everything I do and everyone I meet because everyone I meet is made in your image and likeness.
Amen