Genesis 1:27 says “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
I love this verse for two reasons: It shows that we (ALL of us) were created in the image of God, and that God created us in community.
Because we bear and reveal God’s image and nature, we have inherent value and worth. Here at Love, we talk about that value and worth as dignity.
Dignity is something that every person on this earth has because every person was created in God’s image. We don’t give people dignity – they HAVE dignity. Every single one of us. Often people that come to Love don’t see their own dignity, because they have been treated as if they did not have it, or they don’t know that they bear God’s image. Our value of Dignity means that we work hard to recognize and celebrate the dignity of every person in their unique makeup and in whatever situation they are in.
We were also created in community – God, as father, son and spirit, lives in community, and created us to be together as well. The story in Genesis of the creation of the world emphasizes that God did not want Adam to be alone, and so he created Eve. Each of us is uniquely created and created to be with each other. God’s economy says that every person is critical to a community, because every person has something to offer the community. That also speaks to our understanding of dignity: Each person has value because each person has something important to bring to the group. The different gifts that each person embodies are essential to the Kingdom of God working here on earth. We all have something to offer and we all are seeking something different. When we are living and working together, we find it easier to support each other in the posture of giving and receiving.
Seeing and celebrating the inherent dignity of every person that makes up Love, whether that person is a volunteer, a Life Skills participant, a donor or a customer, is how we live into our value of Dignity. We do our best to recognize and utilize the gifts that each member of our community brings to the table.
Since Dignity is one of our core values here at Love, we find that the Dignity Serves training we offer is an integral part of the ministry. Would you like to take a deep dive into this concept of Dignity and what the Bible says about serving one another? Join us! (email [email protected] for more information on the next session of Dignity Serves today!)
