Do you ever think about what it means to be created in the image of God?
#1 Made in God’s Image
God created the land and the sea and called it good. God created the birds of the air and the fish in the sea and called it good. God created the moon, stars and sun and called it good. But, then God said, let us create man in our own image, so God created male and female in His image and said they’re VERY good.
The rest of Creation was good, but when he created male and female in His image, He called it VERY good. I believe because you’re created in the image of God, that goodness resonates with your soul. When we see kindness we feel inspired. It touches you because you were made in the image of God.
#2 We are connected
Second, I also believe our innate desire to be a part of community is a reflection of being made in God’s image. We have a hunger to be a part of a “tribe” of family and friends because God created community to call us together. I really want us to focus on our interconnectedness. You and I live in this wonderful country that emphasizes individuality and freedom and what we’re able to do on our own and sometimes we forget how interconnected we truly are; how much we need one another.
I’ve been blessed to do some traveling and I’ve discovered no matter where you go in the world, there is a common thread that runs through humanity. It is evident whether you’re in Moscow, Russia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tahiti, the Islands of the Caribbean or you’re visiting with an African, an Asian, Middle Easterner, or Native American; we share the same desires. We desire family, we love our children, we long for a sense of joy and meaning in our lives and we want to be pulled together. Isn’t it amazing?! It doesn’t matter where we go, what language we speak, there is a common humanity that exists because we are all made in the image of God. It resonates with your soul.
#3 We need forgiveness
When Jesus was suffering on the cross, people were hurling insults at Him. Through his unfathomable pain, Jesus looked at the crowd and says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The Roman centurion who helped nail His hands to the cross couldn’t believe it and stood there proclaiming “this was the son of God!”
We have a God given need to forgive. We desire to be reconciled whenever we feel torn apart; we long to have peace and to come together. It feels good to forgive because that’s how we were made. I believe being created in the image of God also means you will revile anything that is mean or hurtful. With all that is happening in our culture at this time, I urge you to not allow the meanness of others to determine how you act! It’s easy to feel like we are surrounded by mean people who are unkind and hurtful, but that’s not who we were created to be. Insulting others never makes you feel good in the long run. Throwing anger because someone has shown anger never makes you happy. We weren’t made for that kind of anger, hurtfulness and insults and though it might be very natural to respond in that way, it never leads you to wholeness or life. As people of faith, we must choose to respond differently to all of the meanness in the world by responding with compassion kindness.
