The Star Wars film franchise has thrilled audiences since the original movie hit theaters in 1977. You might remember its iconic “cantina scene,” in which numerous creatures from a distant galaxy interact while their bizarre forms strain our imagination. But why don’t we see such creatures in actuality?
Astronomers have estimated that the universe contains more than 200 billion galaxies—perhaps as many as two trillion. Yet, as far as can be determined by cutting-edge telescopes and mankind’s attempts to explore our own solar system, the vastness of outer space is inhospitable to life. But planet Earth is a beautiful jewel in space, with just the right amount of atmosphere, water, landmass, and temperate zones to make it habitable for mankind and for animals, insects, and plant life. While there are certainly fantastic creatures in this physical creation, and speculation about “exo-planets” that may be quite similar to Earth, the many variations of life with human-level intelligence popularized by fantasy and science-fiction are exactly that—fantasy.
Humanity exists in various colors, shapes, and sizes, but every ethnic and racial type is unmistakably human in its form. The biblical account of creation reveals the basis of that form: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26–27).
Our human form is like our Creator’s form, which is to say that we are like God, and not that God is like us. Jesus explained this to His disciples when He said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Christ is like the Father in form and character.
The Apostle Paul made it very plain when he explained, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…. Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising” (Acts 17:26–29).
When one understands our origins as human beings and where we are going in the plan our heavenly Father has for mankind, the pervasive fog of confusion clears, revealing the purpose for human life. There is no basis for racial prejudice. Paul stated emphatically that “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11). Every human being has been created in God’s image.
This understanding reveals why Star Wars biology does not resemble actual biology: God specifically designed intelligent life—truly intelligent life—to be like Him. The diverse races of fantasy and science fiction can easily make one’s head spin; by contrast, God’s design of mankind is so perfect in its simplicity that there is confusion only if we clumsily misinterpret ourselves.
Wonderfully, God intended us to share not only His form but also His substance. Paul made this important point to the Christians in his day: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit… from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).
To become like God, not only in form but in our spirit and character, is a destiny that few can really imagine—yet it is our Creator’s true and glorious purpose for us.