Made in His image….
How amazing is this following verse? Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Each time lately as I have read this and similar verses, I am in awe of what it means to us.
God was not speaking to the angels, because man was not going to be made in the likeness of angels but instead in the likeness of God Himself! So, God could only have been speaking within the trinity such wonderful things.
There is so much in these words that is hard to ever fully comprehend. It’s more than just that man was given a spirit, as well as a soul.
The spirit that God has given to man, like the angelic host, and like God Himself, is an eternal spirit; whereas the spirit of an animal ceases to exist when the body dies – Ecc 3:21 – and goes back to the earth.
Man made in the “image of God”, as such has aspects of human nature that are NOT shared by animals – attributes such as a moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and above all, and this is the part of truly love the most, the capacity to worship and love God Himself.
It is these things, the eternal and divine dimensions of our being that must be the essence of what truly is meant – made in His image and likeness!
Which brings me to the main point for this discussion. You are made to worship God!
The Apostle Paul said, Rom 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Rev 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Paul says our lives every day, our very existence has been given for us to worship God every day in all that we do. How?
By not neglecting our relationship, our communication (pray and reading God’s Word), and living with the understanding that God is with us in all that we do.
Relationships fall apart when one takes the other for granted. Does not consider, communicate and ignores the other.
Paul touches on this in another letter when he taught, 1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing,
To live in a right relationship with God as He made us to live is to not live a selfish life.
That in everything we do, we are seeking God, communicating with Him constantly, being led by Him, walking in step with Him, and never ignoring Him and going it ‘alone!”
A major part of this is also one’s attachment and interaction with the local church, the body of Christ.
Jesus birthed the Church and is the Head of it, and the Church is a place where selfishness does not fit!
Why, because I am to be considering others before myself at all times. I am to be loving, serving, giving and encouraging others in the body of Christ. Not thinking of myself.
I encourage you to recognise what it means for you to be made in the image of God today.
This is a precious and wonderful gift and privilege – may you live as such in the realization of what it means in your life and that of others who call Jesus Christ Lord and Saviour!