TODAY IN THE WORD
Derrion Albert, an honor-roll student at Christian Fenger Academy High School in Chicago, was killed just outside the Agape Community Center on the city's south side. As inexplicable and deplorable as all such tragedies are, this particular murder triggered national outrage and disgust because the brutality was captured on video and shown on countless newscasts for all to see.

Seeing lethal violence with our own eyes—not dramatized or glorified in an action film—disturbs us to the very core of our being. We may grow callous to news reports and statistics, but we mustn't lose our appreciation for the value of a human life. We all bear the image of our Creator.

God delivered this message denouncing murder after annihilating all of humanity, with the exception of Noah's family. The Flood was not an endorsement of violent vindication; rather, it was the punishment for such acts. The level of violence on the earth had increased to such a wicked state that it grieved the heart of God (Gen. 6:6,13). As Noah and his family left the ark, God presented them with a new world order where violence was expressly prohibited and the punishment for murder was clear (v. 6).

Verses 4 and 5 make for a somewhat cumbersome direct translation from Hebrew, but all translations carry the same basic meaning that God was keeping account of every individual life. Couched in this warning is an encouraging truth: God values everything that breathes, especially the life of people, all of whom are related to each other and all of whom are made in God's image. There is no such thing as a worthless life.

God's warning to Moses may have been a new proclamation against bloodshed, but that doesn't mean God's hatred of violence was a new development. The commandment to preserve life was an expression of the eternal righteousness of God, and mankind bore His image from the moment God formed Adam and breathed life into him.

---

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Refraining from murder is one thing—ridding our hearts of hate is not so easy. But according to God's Word, harboring inward hate is equivalent to outwardly taking a life (1 John 3:15). We live in a world where physical violence is still less prevalent than divisive speech and hateful attitudes, so we need to remember that if we are guilty of hatred toward anyone we are guilty of ignoring the image of God imprinted on another human being. In prayer, commit your heart to loving those you find less than lovely.

< Previous Day

Next Day >