This weekend, Pastor Albert and I will look at “Beginnings: An Introduction to Us,” a message during which we will look at the value of all people as disclosed in Genesis 1–2; i.e., in God’s eyes, no human being is worth less than others. The notion that some human beings are “less than” others is a human construct, a limited human perspective. Of course, Jesus personally gave us some straightforward teaching about those considered to be “the least of these” in Matthew 25:31–46. In first-century society, Jesus identified some viewed as less than others as being “the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, those needing clothes, the sick, and the imprisoned.” It’s quite a representative list!

Jesus also issued some firm declarations. First, he said, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.” Later, Jesus added, “Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me!” And, of course, Jesus pronounced the strongest possible warning to us if we ignore his words:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me’” (Matthew 25:41–43).

This is a timely topic for the society into which God has placed us as a church family. This weekend is a blend of Sanctity of Life and Martin Luther King weekend. As I read it, the focus undergirding both of these remembrances is the value of each human life. Of course, Genesis 1–2 provides the essential teaching about how Christians are to view human life. I will be surveying its teaching and saying a word about the unborn “least of these” in our culture. I’ll be asking Pastor Albert to talk about some of the things a Lake Avenue Church task force (led by Lori Johnson and Albert) is identifying for our LAC ministry regarding others sometimes considered the “least of these” in the community surrounding our facility.

May God speak to us as clearly as Jesus spoke to the people of his day about the value of every human being whose path crosses our own.

A Waybrightian Contention
Why do we struggle with Genesis 1? I contend that we do not like a world that begins with the voice of a sovereign God speaking into the darkness. And the reason why we struggle with that is simple—i.e., a God who commands the light to shine is a God who can command us, too. A God who can distinguish good from evil in a world He made is a God who can evaluate us. And we do not want to be commanded. We do not want to be evaluated.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor