Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

We believe that God truly created humanity in his image. As followers of Jesus we are to see that invisible quality in others because that quality should be visible in us. When God rescued his people from Egypt, he told them in Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” so when the nations would see Israel, they would see God. His people were to carry his name. Their actions would speak to his character. This was instrumental enough to be in the ten commandments. Exodus 20:7 instructs “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

Recent events in the world have stirred questions on how well as a society we have dealt with racism. Many voices are rising to call out the injustices in the United States, but the voice that needs to be heard above the rest is Jesus. In John 13:34-35 Jesus instructed “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” By their love, the disciples were bearing the name of Jesus. The love of Jesus not only extended to the fellow believers but also to their enemies. Matthew 5:44 says “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” God’s love is unconditional, and so too is ours.

August 28th was the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In his dream King saw a better world. Today we are facing a lot of turmoil, but King believed only one thing could ever end racism: love. He once said “love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive.” Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister, and his life was dedicated to following Jesus. And he asks us to follow Him too.