Since children are supposed to honor their parents (Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:1-3); since wives are called to respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24, 33b), since  husbands are commanded to love their wives (Ephesians Ephesians 5:25-33a), and of course, since fathers and mothers are exhorted to love their children (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; Titus 2:4), then the question must be asked…, “Why?”.

The easiest and clearest answer is simply because God says so (note the passages mentioned above).  Not only does God command that we love our family members, but He calls us to love all of our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37) as well, and even to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).  But now we ask, “Why has He commanded it?”.

After watching a video by Dr. Voddie Baucham on The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World, I was meditating on what he had to say about the value and dignity of humans.  From a secular humanist’s standpoint, there is no way or reason for a human to have any value or worth.  And this lack of objective dignity given to all humans has led, is leading, and will always lead to a lack of love for them.  This only makes sense.  If we have no intrinsic value, then there is no moral obligation to love one another.  In Romans 13:7-8, Paul tells us that honor, respect, and love is an owed thing.  We owe our wives, husbands, children, parents, friends, neighbors, and enemies love.  And I think the reason we owe it to them is that they have inherent value that demands it.

Now we must understand something about the value and worth we have as humans.  We are not valuable in and of ourselves.  For, although it is in us, it is not of us.  Our value is in us, but not from us.  Ours is a derived value.  Our value comes from the One who made us in His image (Genesis 1:26, 27; 5:1; 9:6; I Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9).  Every human being has a God-given and God-dependent dignity.  It is not only given by God, but it rests in God.  We would have no value (or existence for that matter) without Him.  All of creation is worthless without the Creator who made, sustains, and works in and through it.  We, therefore, should not talk about our value, worth, or dignity apart from Him, who is the First and Best of beings, the only All-Worthy One who gives all of His creation its limited and dependent value.

This tells us that because everyone has worth and value and dignity which is indelibly tied to and dependent upon our Creator-Savior, the love we owe others is also unbreakably connected to Him.  Thus, our purpose and joy is not to esteem or praise ourselves with our own given, limited, and dependent worth and value, but Him and His necessary, eternal, unlimited, and independent worth and value by loving each other whom He has made in His image, with value derived from Him, and for His glory.