God’s Image
Genesis 1:26-31, Colossians 1:15-22
God created us in His image. God created everything, but Genesis says that only humans were created in the image of God. We were created to rule over the earth and subdue it. God created everything on Earth by his authority and then gave us the authority to create, rule, and advance the world as we know it. Our identity is secured because we were created in the image of God. In our sin, we can stain or distort that image but not extinguish it. We should rejoice in the reality that there isn’t anything that can change our identity. God created us in his image so that we could reflect that image in everything we do.
Sin is us not reflecting his image but rather our image. We see this through violence, injustice, corruption, and many other things created through sin. We were dead in our sin and could not reconcile to God's original design. God saw us in our brokenness and sent Jesus to die on the cross so that we could be reunited with him!
Jesus is the perfect example of what it looks like to bear God’s image. Jesus ruled and subdued the Earth according to God's design. We see that Jesus ruled in such an opposite way from the world. It says in Matthew 20:28, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus lived a life of service to the people around him. Rather than coming down and ruling with an iron fist, Jesus ruled by loving the marginalized. His love and generosity to the socially outcast shows that there is no partiality because we were all created in the image of God!
Being created in the image of God gives us a foundation for loving the people around us! If everyone was created in God’s image, then the only response to the people around us is to love them unconditionally. Even when people are hard to love, Jesus says we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This type of love is only possible with an understanding that each of us has intrinsic worth because we were made in the image of God.
The identity found in the truth that we are made in God's image gives us worth that nothing can take away, not shame, sin, or the attempts of the enemy. We are called to love unconditionally, just as Jesus loved those around him,
Is there any area in your life you are holding on to because you feel it gives you worth?
How would looking at everyone around you with the reality that they were made in the image of God change your relationships? With your spouse, family, coworkers, or even the clerk at the grocery store?
