Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27
Then
God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may
rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and
all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along
the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God said, "Let Us make humans in Our own image and in Our own
likeness." What do you think it means for humans to be in God's image and
God's likeness?
One way that we're in His image is in a very physical way - the
way we're put together. When God the Father said, "Let Us make humans in
Our image," He was talking to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God,
the Three-in-One, was saying, "Let's make humans to be like Us."
And so, because God is a Three-in-One, we are a three-in-one in our
very being. We have a mind, and we have a spirit, both held in our body, just as
God has God the Son (referred to in some places as the logos or the thought,
and other places as the Wisdom of God) and God the Holy Spirit, both unified in
and coming from God the Father.
So, our very being reflects or is an image of God's being.
Pretty cool, right?
But besides being in God's image, we've also been made in God's
likeness. So, what does that mean? What does it mean for us to be like God?
Well, a good way to answer that is to ask this question: what is
God like? How would you describe Him?
You might say He's:
- Powerful
- Loving
- Creative
- Kind
- Just
- Merciful
- Relational
- Caring
- Eternal
- All-knowing
- All-present
- Wise
- Righteous
- Selfless
- Giving
That's what God is like. And we were
made to be like Him. Now, obviously, we can't be all of those things to the
extent that God is, but can we strive to be those things as much as possible?
If we can't be all-present - if we
can't be everywhere at once - can we be more present with those we care about?
Can we spend more time with our loved ones, giving them our focused attention?
If we can't be as wise or as
all-knowing as God, can we practice sharpening our mind and making good decisions?
I would encourage you to do two things
this week:
1. Remind yourself that your body, your mind,
and your spirit have been made in God's image. Because of that, your body,
mind, and spirit should be unified and working together. If your spirit is
working toward good ends, but you're not taking as good care of your body as
you should be, your being isn't unified. Understand that each part of you needs
to be unified and working together.
2. Make a list of God's qualities - what He's
like - and intentionally strive to be more like Him in one of those areas. Keep a journal of how you
embodied that quality during the day and see how you're growing in God's
likeness. Next week, do the same thing with another one of God's qualities and
keep becoming more and more like Him.
Practice living a unified life in your entire being and practicing
living God's qualities. It's how you were made to be.
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