Genesis 9:6 - Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
The daily papers are full of crime of every sort. It seems there is no end to the mischief men can think to do to one another. The most horrible of these is probably murder. Yet murder has become so common that most of us think almost nothing of it when we read about it in the news unless it happens close to home. It seems that television has helped us to become immune to the harsh reality of murder.
The last few weeks/months the papers have been full of the highly publicized murder of a young man by his ex-girlfriend. I cringed as I read how that most of the jurors wanted the death penalty. As I was contemplating this it seemed I could hear the Holy Ghost whisper the scripture from Genesis into my spirit. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed."
Without going into an argument about the death penalty, I would say this. Anyone that could take the life of someone else doesn't realize how precious life is. We are not just physical beings but the scripture states that we are made in the image of God. When someone attacks another, they are attacking the very image of God. That is why God mandated that anyone who takes a human life receive such a stiff sentence as giving his life in return. He wanted us to understand how serious he takes it.
Most of us would never physically take another life yet we think nothing of murdering someone's reputation with our tongues. If we truly understood how God looks at us we wouldn't so carelessly attack our brothers and sisters. I am just as guilty as the next person of sharing a bit of workplace gossip. But I have to stop myself and ask, "Would I want someone to say the same thing about me?" More importantly, would I say the same thing about God? In effect that is what I am doing when I attack a brother or sister with my tongue? I am attacking the image of God.
God help me to be more careful about what I say and listen to. If it is slander against someone's character, help me not participate in it. Let me realize that all people, born again or not, were originally made in the image of God. Help me to look beyond the faults of the people in my life and see some attribute of God in each one. Then perhaps I can help them to discover it for themselves and develop.
I want to be like Jesus and I want to help everyone around me be like him as well. Don't you?
Yours Truly,
Sullivan Jones
