Why Our Choices Matter: The Gift of Human Dignity
Before we judge someone, we must first understand the dignity God has given to every human person. This dignity is not earned, learned, or granted by society, it is given by God Himself.
From the very beginning, God stamped His image upon the human person, not in physical appearance, but in the spiritual gifts that make us truly human. He has given us immortal dignity rooted in our spiritual life, so that we can recognize the order of creation, choose the good, and direct our lives toward the One who made us. We do not look like God; rather, we reveal Him through the way we think, love, and freely choose what is right.
Since the earliest teachings, we learned that this is the foundation of human dignity. A human being is never “something,” but always someone, a person capable of craving selfknowledge, freely giving of themself, and entering into communion with others. Every person shares this three-prong dignity, because every person shares the same origin in God. We are called to share in the same eternal destiny with Him.
Because human dignity belongs to the whole person, mind, body, and soul, it is present in every stage of life, every condition, and every circumstance. Nothing can erase it.
Our theology often describes the divine image in a beautiful threefold way:
Image of Creation — our reason reflects God’s own intellect.
Image of Likeness — the soul’s powers are ordered toward God and reflect His triune life through conformity to He, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Image of ReCreation — God’s grace restores what sin has wounded and can draw us back toward God, if we so choose.
We bear God’s image, and thus, we also bear responsibility. Freedom is one of the clearest signs of God’s imprint on us: through conscience we discern the moral law and freely choose good or evil; right or wrong.
We are also made for relationship, with God and with one another. Love is not optional; it is the very purpose for which we were created. Human communion has real social consequences, shaping families, communities, and cultures.
We understand the fullness of this divine image because God revealed it perfectly in Jesus Christ, “the image of the invisible God.” In Him we see what humanity was meant to be, and through His grace the image wounded by sin is restored, healed, and elevated.
If this is my last post, I want all to know there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others.
—Anthony “Tony” Boquet,
Solutionary, author of “The Bloodline of Wisdom, The Awakening of a Modern Solutionary” and “The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, A Devotional Timeline”
