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In His Image

Most of us know these verses from Genesis, which tell us that we’re made in the image of God: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)

But what does it really mean to be created in God's image? That's a lot to think about, isn't it? And it's something we don't think about every day--I don't anyways.

I've listed several things off the top of my head below and I have no doubt that you can think of way more than that. Basically, this article is meant to get you thinking about what it really means to be made in God's image.

1. Having been created in God's image, we are capable of having a close, personal, one-on-one relationship with God, unlike the rest of His creation. 2 Corinthians 3:14, 2 Corinthians 3:16, Hebrews 4:16.

2. We reflect God in our personality traits--including happiness, anger, love, joy, and a multitude of other emotions that came from God. Exodus 4:14, Job 8:21.

3. We are equipped to communicate; God gave us a mouth and the intelligence to speak and understand one another. We've also been created to work out our problems instead of handling them with violence like the basest animal. Isaiah 1:18.

4. We have dignity, a sense of self-worth, a sense of our own value. If we didn't we wouldn't care where we go after we die. Exodus 1:17, Psalm 103:11, Luke 12:5.

5. We have a sense of purpose. Without it, we would wander around like lost sheep. 1 Kings 22:17, Jeremiah 50:6, Matthew 18:12.

6. We’re capable of living the greatest commandment found in Matthew 22, which is to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’re capable of treating others how we expect to be treated.

7. God is love; He made us to love us, and for His pleasure. Likewise, we are fully able to love and worship Him, in so doing, we please Him. We love because God loves us. Ephesians 1:5, Exodus 20:6.

8. Because God gave us intellect we're capable of reasoning. If something isn't clear to us, we can read our Bibles and put two and two together and figure out if we're living according to the will of God or not. Whenever we feel discouraged and want to quit, we can look back and remember all the good things the Lord has done for us and feel encouraged to continue onward, fighting the good fight. Animals are only concerned with the here and now, not yesterday or tomorrow. Psalm 10:17, Romans 15:4.

9. Like God, we're capable of mercy and forgiveness. Nehemiah 9:31, Isaiah 55:7, Matthew 6:14, 1 John 1:9, Hosea 6:6.

10. We know right from wrong because God wrote His laws on our hearts. Jeremiah 31:33, Kings 3:8-10, Psalm 40:8.

11. We can be faithful like God. We can make a commitment and stick with it, heart, mind and soul. Deuteronomy 32:4, 2 Samuel 22:26, Lamentations 3:23.

Knowing all of this, what can we do to be more like God?

1. Instead of judging a person by his or her outward appearance, we should look at his or her heart. See 1 Samuel 16:7.

2. We can be on the lookout for opportunities to encourage and edify one another in the Lord, always speaking in love. Acts 16:40, Romans 1:12, Romans 14:19.

3. We can try our hardest to always be humble and gentle like Jesus was when He walked the Earth. Psalm 149:4, Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 11:29.

4. Also like Christ Jesus, we can endeavor to be quick to yield to God's will, knowing that our stubbornness will only bring about pain and anguish for ourselves and our loved ones. Mark 14, Jeremiah 11:8.

5. We can strive to be generous with one another as Christ Jesus has given everything to us. This doesn't have to be with money only; we can be generous with our time, our helpfulness, even with encouragement, always making sure that we never hold back when we pray on another's behalf. Matthew 25:40.

6. And lastly, it wouldn't kill us to have more compassion and patience with one another as we all need to feel accepted, appreciated and loved. Exodus 34:6.

Given the fact that God instilled creativity within each one of us, I'm sure you can think of more things that all of us can do to be more Christ like.

Copyright 2009 Sandra Purdue, A.K.A. The Bossy Church Lady. You can use whatever I write for whatever purposes as long as you don't take credit for what I've written.

God Bless!