What makes human life valuable?

God has set apart human life from all other life forms. Humans are the only beings created in God’s image: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.’ So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27, NLT).

From the beginning, God ascribed preeminent value to humankind. The making of a man and a woman was the grand finale of His creative master strokes in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says God “breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7, NLT). Humankind was made alive by the divine inbreathing of God’s breath of life. Human life is valuable because it is a gift from God (Psalm 139:13; Acts 17:28).

Human beings—both men and women—are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27; 5:1–3; 9:6; James 3:9). “In our image, to be like us,” says Genesis 1:26 (NLT). Human life is incalculably valuable because it is a unique representation of God. People did not evolve from other lower forms of life. We were created by God and for Him to represent Him on this earth (Colossians 1:16).

Humans were also created to rule over every other creature. God is the sovereign ruler of all creation, but He delegated authority and responsibility to humans to rule over animals and care for them (Genesis 1:26, 28; 2:19; Psalm 8:6–8; James 3:7). As humans, we have the great blessing and privilege of exercising stewardship over the earth (Genesis 1:29; 9:1–3; Daniel 2:38; Hebrews 2:8).

Because human life represents God’s life, murder is an assault on God. God told Noah that He would “demand an accounting for the life of another human being” because “in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9:5–6). Human life is so sacred to God that it requires the ultimate penalty if violated (Leviticus 24:17; Psalm 49:7–9).

What truly makes human life so valuable is the purpose for which God created it. We were made for fellowship with God, personally designed to be in close relationship with Him as His own special possession (1 Peter 2:9). We were created to worship God. To bring Him pleasure and glory is our supreme purpose (Psalm 29:1–2; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 1:3–6; Philippians 2:9–11; 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 5:13–14; 21:1—22:5).

Humans are the only beings requiring multiple levels of relationships (see Genesis 2:18–25). We are social beings with an inherent need for fellowship. In Eden, our primary relationship was with God (see Genesis 3:8, which implies Adam and Eve’s fellowship with God). Part of being made in God’s image is having the freedom to make choices (see Deuteronomy 30:19–20). Although Adam and Eve were righteous in nature, they chose to rebel against God. Their tragic rebellion—known as the fall—caused sin to enter the world, marring the image of God within Adam and Eve and all their descendants (Romans 5:12). The result was a profound change in humanity’s relationship with God and others (see Genesis 4; 6:5; Romans 5:12). Human life became characterized by bondage to sin and death (Hebrews 2:14–15), struggle with powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12), weakness and trouble (Isaiah 40:6; Job 14:1), and inclinations toward evil in mind and heart (Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51:5).

Thankfully, God, in His grace, did not leave us to die but provided for our redemption. God values human life so profoundly that He initiated a plan of salvation, sending His one and only Son to be our Savior (1 John 4:9; John 3:16). He did what we could not do for ourselves (Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). He paid the redemption price with the precious blood of His Son to purchase His own people who are “chosen and precious” to Him (1 Peter 2:4; see also 1 Peter 1:18–19; Psalm 49:7–8; Revelation 5:9).

Jesus is the perfect representation of the image of God (Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4). If we place our faith and trust in Him and His sacrifice on the cross, we are born again as new creatures in Christ (Ephesians 2:4–9; 1 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Through our union with Jesus, we are gradually conformed into God’s image through the sanctifying work of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9–17; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10). God’s Spirit transforms us into the person we were created to be in Christ Jesus—a human life that is precious and exceedingly valuable in the eyes of God (Matthew 6:25–34; 10:31; Luke 12:4–7; 1 Peter 2:4).