The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Katie P. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Sanctity of Life
In Genesis 2:7, it says that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. As I was reading that, it struck me. Genesis gives a very brief overview of creation. "On the first day God made the light and saw that it was good," so on and so forth. But not until the sixth day, when God made man, is there any detail to the process.
So I wonder, what is it that made the author of Genesis speak specifically about how God breathed the breath of life into Adam? Is it even significant? Does it separate us from the rest of creation?
Psalm 139 is twenty four verses devoted to how God knows David. He says "You searched me and know me. You see me sitting down and rising up." God knows every little insignificant thing that we do. He sees our every thought and action. He knows us better than we know ourselves. But once again, what is it that separates us from the rest of creation?
Well, the answer is right in the very beginning of time and scripture. It was so important to God that we be separated from the rest of creation, that it is pointed out the very first time man is even mentioned. "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" Genesis 1:26. What separates us from creation is the fact that we are created in the image of God. Humans were created to be and think like God. He gave us a will to choose and he gave us a higher mind to decide and think for ourselves.
That makes human life precious. Human life is far greater than that of a cow or a pig. It is something to be treasured and nurtured and cared for. Because, like Adam, God breathes the breath of life into every individual human. He doesn't clump us all together like the rest of creation is in Genesis chapter one. He doesn’t think "Yeah, here, have some humans," and toss a few out onto the earth. He knows every single person. He knows when we rise and when we sit. He knit us together in our mother’s womb and there is no where we can go to flee from him.
The reason humans are separated in Genesis, the reason it doesn't just say "On the sixth day God created man and saw that it was good, the end," is that God took the time to make humans different. He changed it up a little, by making us like Himself. He breathed the breath of life into humans, and made them in his image. He gave us the ability to make our own decisions and to choose our own path. That is what makes us different from the rest of creation, and it's what makes human life so precious.
