Erica Mandi Manga reflects on what it means for everyone to have dignity as we explore healthy relationships.
‘You’re the spitting image of…’
Has anyone ever told you that you are the spitting image of another person?
Depending on the comparison, this can either be flattering or discouraging.
Today we begin our 16 Days of Activism blog series exploring what healthy relationships look like. The world is becoming increasingly aware of the prevalence of gender-based violence and just how profoundly wrong and damaging it is. But perhaps what is less clear is what a world without that violence might look like.
What does a healthy, God-shaped relationship look like - in marriage, dating, leadership, church, or childhood?
We need a clearer picture of what good, flourishing and God-like relationships might look like, so we can recognise them, pursue them, and build them.
Over the next 16 days, we’ll hear reflections from people who have experienced, pastored, or walked alongside those affected by broken or violent relationships. Together, we’ll glimpse a vision of relationships as God intended — grounded in love, justice, and dignity.
All relationships should dignify the people in them, recognising their value and worth, because all people have inherent dignity.
This belief is grounded in Genesis 1:27, which tells us that we are made in the image of God, male and female, every one of us.
Before there were nations and nationalities, before there were classes and class divides, before there was any stratification or differentiation, we were one. We were unified by a reality so profound and so important that it had to be shared with us on page 1 of our Bibles. We are – all of us – made in the image of God.
And this is where we return to the question we started with. The way Genesis 1:27 completes that sentence ‘you are the spitting image of’ is simple and astonishing: God. We are like God. We reflect Him in a sense that is both ineffable and real.
By looking at each other we see something of who God is, and by relating to each other we show something of who God is.
What that means for our relationships is that there's dignity due to each person we meet. Every interaction between us has the potential to reflect something divine.
Dignity looks like being truly listened to and having our opinions respected.
It looks like having our vulnerabilities treated with care and sensitivity.
It looks like recognising our common humanity, laughing with someone, rather than at them.
It looks like encouraging another person towards the full use of their gifts.
And it looks like remembering that whatever other distinctions or hierarchies our culture might have slotted a person into, from a biblical point of view, there is something unchangeably true about them: they bear the image of God.
As we begin this series, I invite you to reflect on one or more of these questions:
Where in your life might you need to see others more clearly as image-bearers of God?
Are there relationships where dignity has been lost or overlooked — and what might restoration look like?
How do you respond when you see someone’s dignity being dismissed or diminished?
What helps you remember your own God-given worth and value?
How might your daily interactions — in your family, church, or workplace — better reflect God’s image?
Creator God,
Thank you that you made each of us in your image, full of dignity and worth.
Help us to see your likeness in one another, to treat every person with honour and care, and to build relationships that reflect your love.
Amen.
Erica Mandi Manga (née Hamence) is currently the Young Adults Minister at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Castle Hill. As both a minister and writer her work explores the intersections of faith, justice, and safety. The founder of Common Grace’s Domestic and Family Violence Justice Team, Erica has contributed to key resources including SAFERresource.org.au and the Renew guide. Her writing and teaching focus on non-coercive pastoral care, spiritual abuse, and the ways Christian communities can respond with compassion and wisdom to those experiencing violence.
Healthy Relationships is Common Grace's daily blog series during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November to 10 December 2025. Encourage your friends, family and faith community to sign up here.
The following Domestic and Family Violence support services are available:
Learn more about Domestic and Family Violence from Common Grace's SAFER Resource
In our final day of 16 Days of Activism Pastor and family lawyer Todd Darvas, shares how God is at work breaking through broken relationships to bring restorative hope and how Christians can help create pathways to safety, dignity, and healing.
Louise explores how love and fear go hand-in-hand in abusive relationships.
Victoria, a survivor of domestic and family violence, reflects on how healthy relationships allow stories to be shared, and listened to.
