Pulling The Roots Of Racism And Discrimination To Fulfill The Great Commission

I am a people watcher. The way people interact with each other, how they show various emotions, and appropriate the uniqueness of cultural differences, have intrigued me for as long as I can remember. All human beings have more in common with each other than they think.

When the Triune God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," He thoughtfully and perfectly created humans out of the dust of the earth and breathed into their "nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen 1:26-27; 2:7 KJV). He knows every single person on the planet personally and completely - and yet He loves them anyway! They are all created in the very image of God (Gen 1:26-27). As a result of His divine design, humans are the most marvelous, fascinating, and complex creation in the universe.

God revealed the worth of each life from the moment of conception to the final breath of life. God designed the body and created each human being as a one of a kind person who was individually and intricately created to be marvelous with purpose and great worth. Every cell, organ, and tissue was originally woven together in complex ways by the hand of God.

"My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." (Ps 139:15-16 NIV)

God's original intent was that the human spirit, mind, and body would be His dwelling place (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). Every new human zygote has the inherent capacity and potential to become a fully rational and cognizant person. Human beings have a special value independent of their genetic variation. Placed within each person's unique genetic code is their gender, intelligence, personality, physical and athletic ability, talents, tastes, the way they think, feel, and process things.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Ps 139:14 NIV)

The word "fearfully" means with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and with respect.' The word "wonderfully" means unique, set apart, marvelous.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jer 1:5 NIV)

A Miraculous Gift

When my daughter was born, it was the most exciting experience in my life, and nothing has compared to it since. The doctors told me that my wife should not have a child and that having one would kill her due to an underlying medical issue. Yet, we were convinced that God would step in and work things out as He always had before - and still continues to do now! (see Rom 8:28) We considered our daughter to be a gift from God, and I always let God know my gratitude and appreciation for the gift my daughter is to me.

I was an adopted child, and while growing up, I had never been around another person who had similar physical features as mine - let alone a similar bloodline. Both my brother and sister were adopted from different families as well, and when we would go to an occasional family reunion, we felt like outsiders looking in. Everyone there looked similar to each other - except us! We were ok with it because we were unconditionally and genuinely loved and nurtured by our adoptive family.

It wasn't until the birth of my daughter did I truly experience what it was like to be blood-linked to another. She had my ears, my mouth, and my eyes. She had her mother's nose, facial features, hair, and as she grew older, her body type. I remember that all I could say was, "What a trip, what a trip!" as she was delivered. The conception and birth of a child are always so miraculous!

Natural Law

Dr. Jean Louis Marie Lejeune was a French pediatrician and geneticist who was best known for his discovery of the link of diseases to chromosome abnormalities. He discovered that Down Syndrome was caused by an extra chromosome.

During his years of scientific research on the topic of human origins, Dr. Lejeune observed that every person is a very young human being just after fertilization when it has split into two cells, and then for a millisecond, the cells split from two into three cells, instead of directly into four. Dr. Lejeune noted that when the cell splits in two, information is exchanged that comes from one cell and is relayed to the other cell. When it briefly splits into three cells, it receives information that it is now an individual and marks the beginning of a human being that is alive and a member of the human species.