As we read the first pages of the Bible, we are given fascinating questions to some of our greatest questions. The very first verse explains why are we here. The Bible answer is that we exist because God made us, and our purpose in life is to please this great God and prepare to live with him forever.

As we read further we are told that God created all things, first the plants, then the sea animals, later the birds and land animals finally we are told in Genesis 1:27 that God made man in his own image. Here we are given the Bible's answer to the question, "Who are we?" and "What are we worth?"

Those who don't believe the Bible generally believe that humans are nothing more than super monkeys (and some of us may not be that!). The only real difference between us and other forms of animal life is that we are more intelligent. According to this point of view, humans are not inherently any different than other forms of life. Now if we think we are animals, then logically, how are we going to behave in life? One wonders why men like Hitler and Stalin could murder so many of their own people. It is because they thought of humans as of no more inherent value than animals. If we are only animals, then what is to prevent us from treating each other as we would a dog or a cockroach?

And what are we worth? If man is only an animal, then he is worth no more than an animal. To Joseph Stalin people in Ukraine were pretty cheap. Remember what happened in the 1930's? He starved the population of Ukraine. And he murdered millions of his own people in the gulag. Why? Because according to his point of view humans are only animals and of no more intrinsic worth than animals.

And the world knows what Hitler did to the Jews and the Slavic peoples. The world now knows what he did to those unfortunate enough to be born with a handicap or to those who were getting old. Unless someone was of use to the government, he would get rid of them. Human life wasn't worth much to a man like Hitler.

But the Bible has an entirely different answer to the question: "Who are we and what are we worth?" It is the answer that we are made in the image of God and therefore are worth infinitely more than any animal. Every human being whether young or old or rich or poor or healthy or not has dignity and is of great worth because he is made in the image of God. This is why the Bible says that murder is such an evil thing. It is because humans are not mere animals like cockroaches to be stepped on and killed for nothing. God allowed men to kill animals for food, but one of his first laws was that we must not kill each other and the reason is because we were made in God's image and the animals weren't.

So we are not to be killing people because before they are born, or when they get old, or if they are handicapped or retarded or if their hair is not blond and their eyes are not blue or they are not healthy or otherwise useful to the state. It is the Bible and the Bible alone that says we are made in God's image and therefore we all have value. And when people and when cultures and governments don't believe the Bible, watch out! Prepare for Hitler and Stalin. Dostoevsky said, "If there is no God, all things are permitted."

On the other hand,when we believe the Bible, that humans are made in the image of God, we have a reason to treat all humans with dignity. No one is a greater friend to people than God. No one ever gave greater dignity to people than Jesus. No one has done more to help people in need than Christian people. This is because we believe what the Bible tells us, that every human has been made in the image of God. This is another reason why it makes so much sense to believe this book. We believe there is a God who made humans in his own image. And we are so valuable to this God that he sent his only son Jesus Christ into this world to save and rescue us from our own sins, to die for our sins, to die in our place, to pay our death penalty, to deliver us from sin and to deliver us from death. Jesus himself said:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."