Flapjack Friday: On Human Life
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is humankind that you are mindful of them …? Yet you have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given humankind dominion over the works of your hands (Psalm 8:3–5).
This particular Friday I am mindful of the value of human life, especially after watching Derek Chauvin’s verdict announced earlier this week—guilty on all counts. Not long after the verdict was read, the Reverend Al Sharpton gathered members of George Floyd’s family, close friends, members of the Prosecution and linked arms, “because we’re family,” and prayed. I was moved by the humble posture of this grieving community—their collective thanksgiving and palatable relief and cautious hope. I also felt a deep sense of compassion for Derek Chauvin.
Over the past several years, God has increased my awareness of the injustices that the black people in our country have endured. This awareness has allowed me to observe a depth of strength and holy dignity within their community that is rare in our culture today. I am astounded by the victims’ mothers and grandmothers who display an almost tangible God-dependence and active perseverance in the face of unimaginable grief and pain. I have black friends who have endured injustices I have never known and who fear for their sons every day.
Many of my friends describe feeling numbed by these events that are stacked …
one upon the next…
upon the next…
upon the next…
to the point where it is no wonder that they wonder if their life really matters.
When we read the Bible, which is so important in this conversation, we are regularly reminded that human-beings are created by God. We learn that God made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor. As followers of God, living and breathing participants in the True Story of the Whole World, recipients of God’s lavish grace, we must be the first to champion the worth and value of each other, don’t you think?
So, this weekend, join with me and take nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds to take.a.deep.breath and remember that George Floyd was a man created in the image of God. His God designed face and personality, his quirks and uniqueness once reflected the mystery of God’s likeness. His chest housed two lungs that gave him breath and a heart that beat with life. Today, by God’s grace we know that George Floyd breathes with new life in the presence of the King.
Take nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds to remember that George Floyd and your neighbor, your barista, your doctor, sister-in-law, professor, grocer and postal worker are human-beings—created in God’s image and crowned with glory and honor.
