The question of who we are is a question of origins. If we are the result of happenstance and evolution, as the world teaches, and this is the basis of our whole educational system, then we shouldn’t be surprised when people live only to fulfill their lusts and do that by using and taking advantage of other people or maybe even killing other people. If we are just the results of the survival of the fittest, why should it disturb us when one nation invades another nation and there is a wholesale murder of innocent people, surely it is just the sign of the survival of the fittest! If we have proceeded from the goo of the ground, why should we be surprised when mass shootings occur because there really is no moral compass of right or wrong? But if we were created in the image and likeness of God, then that indeed brings a very different perspective to the answer to the question “who are we?”
God’s Word very clearly states that we were created and designed in the image and likeness of God. We read in Genesis 1 on the sixth day of creation, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26a NIV). Notice that God is speaking in the plural in this particular passage. God is not talking with the angels at this point because the angels were not created in the image of God, but God is interacting within the Godhead, within what we commonly call the Trinity. Scripture continues in the next verse where we read, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”, (Genesis 1:27 NIV). In what ways is mankind made in God’s image? Obviously, God did not create us exactly like Himself, given the fact that He does not have a physical body (until He entered humanity in Jesus Christ). But God designed mankind to be a reflection of His glory. Being created in the image of God speaks of our ability to create, reason, and speak. We will never be totally like God because He as our Creator is above all things, but He designed us to be in a relationship with Himself.
Notice what the Word says at the end of the six days of creation, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day,” (Genesis 1:31 NIV). God says at the end of the sixth day that it was a very good day indeed. Each of us is part of God’s creation and He is pleased with how He made you. At times we may feel worthless or of little value, but we must remember that God has a plan for each of us and in God’s eyes you are an invaluable part of His family. We must never minimize or forget the fact that each of us is of great intrinsic worth and value simply because we have been created in the image and likeness of our God. Just as God is made up of many different parts, which include His nature and attributes, so are you. We have within us great and unlimited potential for good, but also for evil because of the fall. I would like us to consider in the next few blogs what it means for us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to reflect the image of God out into our world as we continue to follow Jesus and seek to do His will. In the meantime, let us give thanks to God who is the one who has created us and has provided for our salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make sure that we are walking in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, so that God’s Spirit may direct and guide us to do and be the people God has called us to be.
All for God’s Glory, Pastor Rich Sivo
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