Yes, God values individuality. To Him, it is priceless. The Scriptures clearly declare the value of individuality. Paul’s analogy of the church as a body (1 Corinthians 12) shows how the church could not exist without its individual parts. Jesus declared that there are many (individual) mansions in His Father’s house, and that He would go there before us to prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3). In spite of the presence of suffering and sin, the glory of the present universe (a glory Paul says is so evident that it leaves unbelievers with no excuse—Romans 1:18-20) is certainly related to its marvelous complexity. The universe is an immense, swirling whole consisting of myriads of individual, interdependent parts. Its spectacle is so prodigious and grand that human words and imagination falter even at the attempt to describe it.
But the greatest affirmation of the value of individuality is the Christian gospel itself.
Non-Christian religions—whether theistic or pantheistic—can logically offer hope of salvation to individuals only through negation and obliteration of self. To them, salvation must be sought in surrendering our individuality to God, as drops of rain merge with the sea or photons of light are overwhelmed by the sun’s glory.
In stark contrast, the Christian gospel affirms God’s love for us as individuals. God demonstrated His love for individuals—and individuality—when He became human. In Christ, the supreme miracle occurred, uniting infinite God with finite man “once for all” (Hebrews 9:24-26; 1 Peter 3:18), establishing the infinite worth of the human individuals He created in His image.
Because God personally atoned for our sin and affirmed our worth as individual persons, Christians find meaning in becoming the unique individuals that God wants us to be, not in negation and obliteration of self.
Individuality may always involve some limitation and blindness—at least in terms of perspective and understanding. We will always be limited creatures serving an unlimited God. In this fallen world, our individual limitations are amplified by the effects of sin and fear. Christians seeking to honor God and submit to His Spirit sometimes find it difficult to understand each other because of widely varying perspectives. They may even clash, because the roles to which they are called have such different focuses that it looks like they are working toward opposing ends. This is why individuals who have been redeemed by God’s sacrifice find their own personal fulfillment in conforming to the image of their Savior, the exemplar, elder brother and high priest who embraced each of us in our individuality with infinite patience, forbearance, and love.
(See the ATQ article, Wasn’t Jesus Merely One of Many Divine Messengers?)
