Genesis 1:26-28 New American Standard Bible 1995
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [a]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [b]sky and over every living thing that [c]moves on the earth.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Following my Cardiologists orders, every morning, for the last six and a half months, I have stepped on top of a weight scale to weigh myself to make sure that I was not retaining any extra fluid following my Triple Bypass Surgery.
Every morning, before I step on the scale I have to look at myself in the mirror and stare at a six plus inch surgical scar where they cut through my sternum.
Staring back at me is the wonder of it all, the “new” image of a Child of God.
With all that has happened, my image of myself has changed dramatically.
However, what has not changed one bit is that God still sees me as His Child.
Sometime today, you should take a few moments to look at yourself in a mirror.
When you do, don’t look for wrinkles or gray hairs or for things you don’t like about yourself -try to ignore whatever blemishes you see, and, while looking at yourself, say out loud, “I am not how I see myself, I am made in God’s image.”
We were made to look like God—not physically, but with the ability to love, to choose, to forgive, to communicate, to connect, to relate, have relationships.
Psalm 8:5 tells us we were made “a little lower than the angels and crowned … with glory and honor.”
Psalm 139:14 adds we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God himself.
Perhaps it’s difficult for some of us to convince ourselves, believe we’re special.
Maybe other people have made you feel that you are insignificant and worth very little or maybe you are in a stage of life in which you feel useless.
Perhaps financially you are not able to effectively support your family even though you are working two jobs, you are medically unable to do the things you previously did or want to do – and these truths negatively effect your self image.
If so, despite what those truths are, what those facts of life may present, you need to know you are special no matter what—because you bear God’s image.
Because we are made in God’s image, He always cares about each one of us.
Isaiah 49:15-18 New American Standard Bible 1995
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your [a]builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 “Lift up your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you.
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely put on all of them as [b]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
Isaiah 49:16 says that we are engraved on the palms of God’s hands.
He wants to use each one of us in His goal of renewing His creation.
Embrace Your Identity as a Child of God
Genesis 1:26-28 Names of God Bible
26 Then Elohim said, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
27 So Elohim created humans in his image.
In the image of Elohim he created them.
He created them male and female.
28 Elohim blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
In the Ancient Near East, it was believed that images contained the essence of that which they represented.
In fact, ancient kings would put images of themselves in places in order to claim their territory, control, and rule in those places.
So, the fact that you were created in the image of God means that you are meant to bear God’s essence wherever He has placed you.
You were designed to represent God and act on His behalf in this world.
You were created to display God’s character and nature to the world in desperate need of Him.
We were created in God’s likeness.
We typically think of the terms “image” and “likeness” as the same thing.
But image typically means essence—God’s character.
Likeness means a physical similarity.
In other words, somehow, you look like God!
Isn’t that an incredible thought?
Before you did anything right or good before you were even born, God designed you to resemble Him.
That should give you a sense of great dignity.
You are not a mistake.
You are not an afterthought.
In fact, it’s been said that a great work of art is a masterpiece when the artist puts themselves in the art.
In the same way, you are a masterpiece of God’s own making.
Ephesians 2:10 New Living Translation
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
We were created with purpose.
Psalm 138 English Standard Version
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
138 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Have you ever noticed that everything God made was for a purpose?
The sun, moon, and stars were created to light the skies and govern the days and nights.
The land was created to produce vegetation, and those plants were created to bear fruit.
Even water was created with a purpose—to keep us alive and to teem with living creatures.
Similarly, you were created with a specific purpose in mind.
If you don’t yet know your purpose, God is not trying to hide that from you.
Ask Him for help and guidance.
Ask your community what they think your purpose might be.
And start living on purpose, with purpose, and for a purpose.
We were created with goodness and blessing.
Psalm 139:13-18 English Standard Version
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
When God created man and women, He spoke a blessing of goodness over them.
Don’t ever believe the lie that God is withholding goodness from you or that you have to pry blessing from His hands.
He pronounces blessing and favor freely and abundantly over all who call upon the name of Jesus.
So spend time with Him, enjoy Him, and live on a mission for Him.
You will find that His goodness and His blessing are yours in Christ.
We were named by God.
Genesis 5:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995
Descendants of Adam
5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them [a]Man in the day when they were created.
What’s also implied in the above verses is what God creates, He names.
Genesis 5:2 reminds us that God named humankind when He made us.
And throughout scripture, we see God naming or renaming His creation.
In the ancient world, a person’s name was wrapped up with distinguishing characteristics about them or who they would become.
Also, to name something meant you had authority over their destiny.
As a follower of Jesus, God is your Namer—which means that even when the world tries to tear you down, you have been irrevocably named God’s own.
God has named you, which means He declares his unique authority over your life, His good and perfect plan for you, and His power to make all things work for your good.
Worship Him today – Hold your head high, child of God – Walk tall.
You were created with such wonder.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.
For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have [a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established [b]strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I [c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have [d]ordained;
4 What is man that You [e]take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than [f]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the [g]beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 