Every Body, God's Image
God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
The truth that humanity bears God's image is not a statement about a particular body type, ability, or appearance. It is a declaration about every person, male and female, in all the diversity that includes. This means the image of God is reflected in bodies that move differently, see differently, hear differently, and experience the world differently than what society often calls "typical."
Amy Kenny, a scholar and disability rights advocate, writes about this truth from lived experience in her memoir "My Disability is Divine." Her work invites us to consider how disability itself can reveal something true and holy about God's image rather than being seen as a deviation from it. This is a meaningful shift in perspective for many churches and communities that have, often unintentionally, treated disabled members as problems to accommodate rather than image-bearers to celebrate.
Kenny's insights challenge us to look honestly at our congregations and our society. Where have we built barriers, physical or attitudinal, that keep disabled neighbors from full participation in community life? Where have we missed the fullness of God's image because we were only looking for it in certain kinds of bodies or certain kinds of capability?
Genesis reminds us that being made in God's image was never contingent on ability, strength, or conformity to a narrow standard. It was a gift given freely to humanity as a whole. Letting that truth reshape how we see and welcome one another is holy work, work that makes our communities more whole, not less.
If this reflection stirred something in you, Word&Way's full piece, "Book Recommendation: My Disability is Divine," offers a deeper look at Kenny's memoir and the ways it calls churches toward truer community.
Read the source: Word&Way →