From the Pastor’s Study
The Ability to Serve – Created in God’s Image Nov 10, 2021
A few days ago, I got enticed into watching one of those videos that people post on Facebook. It was a bunch of short videos of pets doing cute things. Dogs and cats were playing together. Cats were pestering other cats. Horses were running around pastures with dogs. I was amused for a few moments.
A few hours later I was reading a book, and the author, when talking about how God created us, said something like this: human beings are the only creatures who have the capacity to serve others. I found that intriguing, especially as I reflected on the content of that short video. Yes, dogs were playing with cats, but I have never seen a video where a dog notices that a cat is hungry and helps it to find food. I haven’t seen a horse being concerned that a free-range chicken has laid its eggs in a place where they could get trampled. To my knowledge no one has ever recorded a cow caring that a pig is going to be shipped for slaughter. And I am quite sure that no pig has ever volunteered itself so that hungry humans have something to eat. By and large, animals look after themselves first, and the only exception seems to be when mother (and sometimes fathers) care for their young. Most species of animals that walk or fly care for their young in one way or another. However, this is mostly about self-preservation and instinct than it is about actually caring about the fate of another. (A rare exception to the rule might be a dog who rescues its beloved owner, but we cannot be sure that this is anything more than an instinctive act.)
In contrast to animals and birds, human beings have the capacity and the ability to care for others, be they fellow human beings or living creatures of another species. Thus, we notice when the horse needs feed, and we bale hay and feed it to them so that they will survive, and we are aware that a neighbour needs someone to look after their kids so that they can keep a doctor’s appointment, so we give up our afternoon to help them. I hadn’t thought about it before, but it does seem to be true: human beings are the only ones of all the creatures which walk on this earth who have the awareness and capacity to help others. We become servants of others, not only people, but the entire creation.
The author I was reading was writing about what it is to bear the image of God, and in that context he noticed this unique attribute of humanity. Like God, who has the awareness and capacity to care for all of his creation, we can do the same. To be created in God’s image, then, is to have the capacity to care and help the rest of creation by providing for the needs of the various parts.
The author went on to talk about this caring for others is an act of service. We serve others, and we often do so at our own expense. Serving is costly to us even when it benefits others. This also is an attribute of God. God is our King, and the image of a king, in the Bible, is often equated with the image of a shepherd. A shepherd looks after the sheep, and he does so at his own expense. God is our King, but he serves us, something that we see illustrated in the giving of his Son to die for our sins. Unlike the pig who would not volunteer itself to be slaughtered to feed us, Jesus gave his life to save us. This is the ultimate act of service, one that we are called to reflect as we image God with our lives.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, and we remember those who gave their lives for the sake of others. Many, many men and women, mostly young, volunteered for service knowing that their service might result in their deaths. They were aware of a need, and they had the capacity to meet that need, and they did. As vicious people and armies sought to overpower and kill their enemies, others stepped in to give of their lives in fighting against the oppressors so that others could live. We often think of them as heroes, but it would be far truer to think of them as servants, even super-servants. Only human beings have the ability and capacity to look after the needs of others.
It would seem, if it is true, that being created in the image of God means that we not only have the capacity to see and care for the needs of others but also that we put that ability into action, then if we don’t exercise this ability, we are acting like the animals. The basic animal instinct is self-preservation, and we, as human beings share that with the animals. God’s image in us is caring for others. We share that with him. The human being, therefore, who is interested only in self-preservation is not living in the image of God. To be truly human, therefore, is to be a servant to others, noticing their needs and doing something about them. To do anything less is to be less than human and more like the other creatures God has created.
We don’t expect to see videos of animals feeding and caring for other animals. We do expect to see humans doing that. Among other things that is what separates us from the animals, and that is the image of God in us.
Pastor Gary
