“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
Genesis 9:6
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
Genesis 9 represents a new beginning for humanity similar to the one that started after the original sin of Adam. There is a command to be fruitful and multiply (see Genesis 1:22, 28 and Genesis 9:1, 7). There is a reminder of the effects of The Fall on our relationship with the other living creatures on this earth. God speaks to them about providing food, even introducing meat consumption. But in verse six, God returns to the central basis of our relationships.
He forbids murder not because He thinks it is a bad thing but because people are created in His image. To kill another human being is to violate the image of God. It is an attack on Him. For that reason, David said, Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight… (Psalm 51:4), when it is clear that he wronged Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. But in wronging them, He attacked the image of God.
This truth forms the foundation of the Christian’s behavior toward all people. At least, it ought to. This truth tells us murder is a sin, abortion is a sin, slavery and trafficking are sins, lust is a sin, hatred toward others is a sin, and discrimination for any reason is a sin. They are sins because they are wrongs done against the image of God found in other human beings.
Essentially, we are to love others because they, like us, are made in God’s image, and any unloving act or thought toward another is an attack on the image of God in them.
So, when we feel anger, jealousy, and resentment toward another, let us remember that they are no less made in the image of God than we are. Let us promote the love of Christ for the world in all its sin-induced ugliness, knowing that Christ came to save that lost world.
If He would die for your enemy, how can you not love your enemy?
