Genesis 1:26-27
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 sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Colossians 3: 12-17
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Who do you resemble, your mother or father? We gain features from both our parents and sometimes our grandparents. Sometimes there are unique features that run through every generation, like pointy ears or big round eyes. Somtimes you can tell who a child belongs to just by their appearance because they resemble their parents so well. We reflect our parents and past generations of our family. We reflect an image of both of our parents. Not an exact representation, but a similar one. A mirror is designed to reflect an exact copy of anything that stands in front of it. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see clearly what I look like. I can tell if my hair is out of place, if my makeup is good, and if I like what I am wearing. Let’s be honest, our purpose in looking in the mirror is to make sure we look good. We want to make sure we look presentable to the general public.
Besides physical appearance, we also inherit personality traits from our parents. Maybe your short temper is from your dad or your desire to always be early to an event is from your mother. Kids really are amazing because as they grow older, it becomes obvious what physical similarities and personality traits they have from each parent.
God says we are made in His image. Think about that. What does His image look like? He doesn’t have a face like you and me. When Jesus came down as man, He had a face, but surely we don’t all truly resemble that image, right? God doesn’t need to eat or breathe like us, so what does it mean that we were made in His image? God does not have a body, but it is His soul we resemble. God is complex in His nature and beautiful, more than we can comprehend. He so complex and beautiful that He created not just one type of human but two, a female and male, which both reflect His beauty. Being part of His image means having His attributes. We are like our Creator because we have reason, intellect, will, and emotion just as He does. Everything He created before us also reflects His beauty, but we are the only creatures that reflect His image, His soul. It doesn’t matter who you are or whether you believe in Jesus, you are created in God’s image. That alone gives our lives significance and value.
I’m going to state the obvious. We have a will like God does which means He has given us freedom to choose. We have freedom to choose what we eat, what we wear, where we work and how we use our money. We even have freedom to choose if we want to worship and obey Him. Yet, His desire is that we don’t just live with His image, but that we reflect His image and that means using our freedom to make choices that show forth who He is and what He is like. It means that I choose to treat others like He would, that I take care of my body that He created like He would, that I use my money like He would, that I am patient like He is, that I am forgiving like He is, and so forth. The Bible is my source of who and what God is like. His character is displayed from page to page. If you want to know more about His beauty and His creativity, just take a few minutes and read about the process of birth, or how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, or how a rainbow is formed. God created all of these. Can you fathom His mind? He is far more superior to us and yet His love for us made us His prized creation. His love chose to make us in His image and we have the honor to imitate Him.
Even though we can’t be like a mirror and be an exact reflection of who God is, we can strive to come awfully close. The more we spend time with God and let the Holy Spirit transform us, the better we can exhibit His qualities. I look in the mirror daily to make sure I look good, but we must strive to look at God daily and make Him look good through us+. I want to mirror God in my daily life. His qualities are stated for us in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” How well are we doing making God look good in ourselves?
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 sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Colossians 3: 12-17
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Who do you resemble, your mother or father? We gain features from both our parents and sometimes our grandparents. Sometimes there are unique features that run through every generation, like pointy ears or big round eyes. Somtimes you can tell who a child belongs to just by their appearance because they resemble their parents so well. We reflect our parents and past generations of our family. We reflect an image of both of our parents. Not an exact representation, but a similar one. A mirror is designed to reflect an exact copy of anything that stands in front of it. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see clearly what I look like. I can tell if my hair is out of place, if my makeup is good, and if I like what I am wearing. Let’s be honest, our purpose in looking in the mirror is to make sure we look good. We want to make sure we look presentable to the general public.
Besides physical appearance, we also inherit personality traits from our parents. Maybe your short temper is from your dad or your desire to always be early to an event is from your mother. Kids really are amazing because as they grow older, it becomes obvious what physical similarities and personality traits they have from each parent.
God says we are made in His image. Think about that. What does His image look like? He doesn’t have a face like you and me. When Jesus came down as man, He had a face, but surely we don’t all truly resemble that image, right? God doesn’t need to eat or breathe like us, so what does it mean that we were made in His image? God does not have a body, but it is His soul we resemble. God is complex in His nature and beautiful, more than we can comprehend. He so complex and beautiful that He created not just one type of human but two, a female and male, which both reflect His beauty. Being part of His image means having His attributes. We are like our Creator because we have reason, intellect, will, and emotion just as He does. Everything He created before us also reflects His beauty, but we are the only creatures that reflect His image, His soul. It doesn’t matter who you are or whether you believe in Jesus, you are created in God’s image. That alone gives our lives significance and value.
I’m going to state the obvious. We have a will like God does which means He has given us freedom to choose. We have freedom to choose what we eat, what we wear, where we work and how we use our money. We even have freedom to choose if we want to worship and obey Him. Yet, His desire is that we don’t just live with His image, but that we reflect His image and that means using our freedom to make choices that show forth who He is and what He is like. It means that I choose to treat others like He would, that I take care of my body that He created like He would, that I use my money like He would, that I am patient like He is, that I am forgiving like He is, and so forth. The Bible is my source of who and what God is like. His character is displayed from page to page. If you want to know more about His beauty and His creativity, just take a few minutes and read about the process of birth, or how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, or how a rainbow is formed. God created all of these. Can you fathom His mind? He is far more superior to us and yet His love for us made us His prized creation. His love chose to make us in His image and we have the honor to imitate Him.
Even though we can’t be like a mirror and be an exact reflection of who God is, we can strive to come awfully close. The more we spend time with God and let the Holy Spirit transform us, the better we can exhibit His qualities. I look in the mirror daily to make sure I look good, but we must strive to look at God daily and make Him look good through us+. I want to mirror God in my daily life. His qualities are stated for us in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” How well are we doing making God look good in ourselves?
“Being in the image of God means at least that we should image forth God. We should reflect what he is really like. And we should do that not to make ourselves look great (as imagers) but to make him look great (as Creator). People make images of famous people to honor them. God made man in his own image so that he would be seen and enjoyed and honored through what man does.”
John Piper, “Don’t Waste Your Life”
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