Every year, thousands of young people with special needs experience a “Night to Shine,” an event where they dress in formal attire, walk the red carpet to cheering crowds, and dance with friends. Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and hosted by churches worldwide, this celebration highlights the inherent dignity of every individual. It serves as a powerful example of how the church can shine by honoring people exactly as God created and sees them.
This commitment to dignity should define the modern church. Historian Rodney Stark notes that a distinctive feature of the early church was the honor shown to all people, a practice rooted in the same spirit as honoring veterans through church outreach. While universal rights are often taken for granted in the 21st-century West, this was historically revolutionary. In the first century, the church was a unique sanctuary where the poor, immigrants, and people of diverse ranks were treated with the respect due to every child of God.
Within this community, social hierarchies were dismantled as even slaves and masters were recognized as equals. This culture of mutual respect mirrors the intentionality found in showing appreciation for church leaders today. By consistently valuing every member, the church fulfills its mission to reflect God’s love and provide a place of belonging for all, regardless of their status or background.
This was incredibly revolutionary. And, as you might imagine, incredibly attractive because it pointed to a new humanity—a humanity not based on Jew or Gentile or rich or poor or the color of a person’s skin, but a humanity based on the united resurrection of Christ. They valued those no one else in their society valued.
One of the most fascinating ministries of the early church is the tradition of “baby runs.” In the Roman Empire, before surgical procedures of abortion existed, if someone didn’t want a baby, it was common to simply leave it outside, where it would be exposed to the elements and die overnight. In the morning, they would be collected and discarded, treated as inconvenient trash.
Christians viewed this practice with horror—and rightly so. They knew those babies were made in the image of God, so they coordinated daily baby runs, walking through neighborhoods in the early morning, listening for cries and looking for discarded babies. I’ve even heard that this pro-life advocacy in the early church was the beginning of the orphanage system.
The church today should also be a place where groups that get overlooked by society are shown great honor as precious creations made in the image of God, whether they are the immigrant or the orphaned or the rehabilitating prisoner or the unborn.
I know the reason that racism and prejudice are evil is because they refuse to recognize the honor and dignity God has given to someone.
I know that harming babies in the womb is evil because even though that child cannot yet articulate it, she is being knit together in God’s very image.
I don’t know everything there is to know about immigration, and I don’t know all the solutions. But I do know that every immigrant is someone made in the image of God and deserves to be honored as such and that Jesus died for every single one.
Romans 12:10 says, “Outdo one another in showing honor.”
To show honor means to recognize and acknowledge the value someone has. Every culture shows honor. In old Europe, honor was based on your family or pedigree; in the United States today it is based on your accomplishments.
The gospel teaches us to think differently about people.
It teaches us that every person has great value because every person is someone made in the image of God. Every believer is someone purchased at the highest price ever paid for something—the blood of the Son of God. Every believer possesses the Spirit of God and is destined one day to rule with Christ, over the angels! That may be hard to see now, but that’s their future.
Treat people as God would treat them, as beloved ones made in his image. Treat every person like a celebrity. Let others shine. Outdo one another in showing honor.
This article originally appeared on JDGreear.com and is reposted here by permission.