I want to speak to you today about what gives human beings value — what gives us worth.
We must take people seriously as beings of immeasurable value.
Human worth isn’t something we earn; it’s something we are given.
I am profoundly proud to be a human being.
Our species is astonishing.
The Psalmist expressed it so beautifully:
> “When I consider the heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars which You have ordained —
what is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
And yet the answer comes in the next breath:
> “You have made him a little lower than the angels
and crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:5)
We are not accidents drifting through a meaningless universe.
We are crowned, honored, and entrusted with divine responsibility.
It is something magnificent — to be a person.
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The Wonder of Being Human
One way to appreciate our greatness is to compare ourselves with the great apes — marvelous creatures, sharing more than 95 percent of our DNA.
Yet the five percent we don’t share has made a world of difference.
Apes use the laws of nature.
Humans understand them — and then shape them.
We make jet engines that pierce the sky, rockets that touch the moon, voices that travel invisibly through the air.
Apes communicate with a few dozen sounds.
You and I command tens of thousands of words — language that expresses grief, worship, love, and abstract beauty.
Apes learn by imitation.
Humans teach.
We pass knowledge on intentionally, building upon centuries of discovery.
We plan, we imagine, we create.
We build museums to preserve what we’ve made and universities to discover what we’ve yet to know.
We bury our dead with dignity because love outlasts life.
What a fantastic thing it is to be human.
Don’t take yourself for granted.
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But What Gives Us Value?
Is our value found in intelligence, creativity, or productivity?
These are gifts — but not the source.
This week I sat in a mall.
A caretaker entered with a small group of children — eight of them — each profoundly limited in body or mind.
They followed one another, hands on shoulders like a human train, toward the food court.
One little girl, in a wheelchair, arms flailing and eyes rolling, made soft grunts as she tried to enjoy her burger.
She will never write a novel.
She will never hold a job.
She may never speak a word.
But she is priceless.
Jesus said:
> “Whatever you have done for the least of these … you have done it unto Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Their worth does not depend on contribution, productivity, or ability.
It comes from somewhere else — from Someone else.
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The Image of God
From the beginning:
> “And God said, ‘Let Us make humankind in Our image, after Our likeness.’” (Genesis 1:26-27)
Male and female — in the image of God.
Strength and tenderness — both reflect Him.
Mind and spirit — both bear His imprint.
God didn’t merely assemble us; He breathed into us.
He kissed us into life.
We are more than matter, more than biology.
There is a spark of the Divine within every one of us.
So we respect ourselves.
We respect each other.
We honor the scientist and the child in the mall — with equal reverence.
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When the Image Is Broken
But what about the broken — the violent, the deranged, the condemned?
Even there, the divine image is bent but not erased.
When we incarcerate a criminal, we still feed him.
We still give him books.
Even a man awaiting execution receives a chaplain and a final meal.
Why?
Because somewhere deep inside that shattered life, there remains a glimmer of God’s design.
Humanity is like a chandelier that has fallen from the ceiling and shattered into a thousand pieces.
Yet even on the floor, each shard still catches the light.
There is beauty in every fragment.
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God Invested Himself in the Human Project
When God stepped into flesh, He made a declaration to the universe:
> Humanity is worth My life.
Jesus stood tall with our bones.
He thought with our mind.
He carried our DNA.
He walked in our skin.
He showed that God and humanity are not incompatible; they were always meant to dwell together.
And when Jesus went to the cross, He paid the highest possible price for the least impressive among us.
A Savior does not die for creatures of small value.
The cross is God’s everlasting statement:
> “You may not believe in yourself, but I believe in you.”
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Michelangelo’s Unfinished Slaves and the Completed David
Michelangelo carved a series of unfinished figures — human forms straining to emerge from the marble.
They were called “The Slaves.”
Each one looks half-born: a shoulder pushing through stone, a hand reaching for freedom.
He left them that way on purpose — to make a point.
> Even the unfinished human is a masterpiece in progress.
Then, at the end of the corridor, stands David — towering, complete, magnificent.
Seventeen feet of white marble perfection.
What gives that statue its value?
Two things:
1. Its intrinsic beauty, and
2. The touch of the master who made it.
So it is with every human soul.
Some of us look like those half-formed slaves — still trapped in our stone.
But just down the hallway stands God’s vision of what we shall be: restored, completed, glorious.
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A Chandelier of Grace
Even when sin shattered us, God refused to sweep us away.
We are the fallen chandelier — broken pieces scattered across the floor —
yet still catching the light.
Even the fragments shine.
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So What Does This Mean for You?
Don’t discount yourself.
Don’t underestimate your neighbor.
Don’t overlook anyone.
If you ever wonder what you’re worth, look again at:
• the cross,
• the empty tomb,
• the God who breathed His own Spirit into you.
You are something to behold — a miracle of God’s imagination.
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Joy + Worship Moment
Let’s feel this truth together.
First — the joyful reminder:
Turn to someone beside you and say, “You look marvelous.”
Now — the sacred truth:
Turn again and tell them, “In God’s image — you are priceless.”
Let those words rest in your spirit.
Believe them.
Receive them.
Because they are true.
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Gospel Appeal
Jesus died for you.
Jesus redeemed you.
Jesus is restoring His masterpiece in you.
One day, the Sculptor will finish what He began.
Until then—
Walk tall.
Honor every soul.
Shine the light that’s still in you.
It is a wonderful thing to be a human being.
Thanks be to God.
