In His Image

             So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them...  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:27 & 31)

          Seeking God by Trevor Hudson provides exercises for our souls, and this exercise is one I’ve used before. The author provided a nice list of verses and passages, and suggests that we read them while looking in a mirror or write them down in a manner that personalizes them. Notice or circle the phrases that touch you deeply. Take note of other verses that this verse brings to mind and add them to the list. The idea is that once you’ve gone through all the verses and passages, your goal will be to write a 6-8 sentence paragraph to remind yourself of the way God sees you. He only suggested verse 27 above. I added 31 because it seemed appropriate.

          And so today’s thoughts concern God creating us in His image. I think “male and female” is described explicitly because that was the most apparent difference, the one on which people would focus if they were trying to drive a wedge between the two. I say this because that’s precisely what happened! What God tells us here is that both men and women are created in God's image. That seems to me not so much to suggest that God is either male or female, but that God is neither, and “in God’s image” doesn’t have anything to do with gender.

          But… I tend to see myself as a failure of God’s creative capacities. If I’m created in His image, why am I _______? Why aren’t I _____? The details don’t matter.

          You might even counter, “Yes, but you’re ___.”

          I might agree that it’s true, but that doesn’t really matter, because I don’t really believe that I’m made in the image of God in a way that matters. I am made in the image of God, but God saw what He had made, and it was mediocre and flawed. And I suspect there are many people with the same image problem. I’m rambling on about it because this is a good place for me to start working on the statement about how God sees me. He sees me as being made in His image and that – even with the flaws and damage caused by sin – it is very good. It’s not that I’m impressed with me. It’s a recognition of the truth that even if He made me “junk,” He still designed me to be in His image, whatever that means.