Several years ago, my dad became fascinated with genealogy and created a remarkable history of our family tree dating back six generations. His research led him to a cousin, a professor at the University of Chicago, who had traced our family roots all the way back to Charlemagne—the great emperor of Western Europe who died in 814 AD. For many years, I took pride knowing I was a descendent of the famous king. On one occasion, I was recounting my illustrious lineage to Art, when he remarked, “Yeah, I’m probably a descendent of Charlemagne too. In fact, I bet half of the people you know are too!” He had a point but my feelings of prominence were crushed. Still, the thought of all those generations of family heritage says something about who I am.
Where do we come from? Do you feel the weight of that question? If you do, it’s because it has to do with our identity. People throughout history have pondered their identity and origins. The pursuit of origins is a fundamental question of life with significant ramifications. One science textbook bluntly stated the problem as follows: “If man is nothing more than a highly evolved animal, then he is to be congratulated for his struggle upward and is to be excused whenever he acts like an animal.”[1] But if humanity is God’s special creation, molded in his own image, then each life has worth, significance, and a purpose.
The path of Jesus allows us to truly love and accept all people, even with those who cling to opposing worldviews. Since God created everyone in his image, everyone is bestowed with dignity and worth. And that makes everyone worthy of our unconditional love. This is Jesus’ model of game-changing love. It’s a difficult model to emulate, but it gives us the freedom to love one another and accept them for who they are even if we don’t approve of their actions. While sometimes we may need to “agree to disagree” with others, we must do so with “gentleness and respect” as Peter commands.
[1] Science: Matter & Motion (Pensacola FL: A Beka Book Publications, 1981), 493.