7,000,000,000 is now the official estimate of people on this planet! Sometime last week we supposedly broke that amazing barrier. At the end of every day we close out with a new record of the number of people on this planet.
I am not going to get into global climate impact, ecological implication, or even the prospect of feeding 7 billion people. I will leave those debates to people who have graduate degrees in something other than Theology. But having a degree in theology obviously leads me to consider the staggering number of people from a theological perspective.
There are 7 billion image bearers on this planet. Not everyone can agree with me on the inherent value that all 7 billion people possess, because to some in the world these 7 billion are nothing more than a high functioning species. We are like an infestation of termites and the earth is our tree stump. But for those who believe any semblance of the creation narrative in Genesis, humanity is so much more than merely a dominant species.
We are reflectors of God. Made like so many mirrors for the purpose of reflecting the glory, goodness, kindness, grace and justice of God. All 7 billion of us reflect a distorted image. That’s what sin does, it distorts glory, goodness, kindness, grace and justice.
There are now 7 billion of us, each one in need of wholeness, restoration and healing. The challenge is amazing, but the potential is even more astounding. There is one who came 2000 years ago and He died to bring reconciliation between the image and the image bearers. He is the business of repairing broken mirrors. I think you know His name . . . Have you found restoration in Him? Are you doing your 1/7,000,000,000th to reflect the majesty of God?