~ Reflecting God's Image ~

[Lani]

Genesis 1:26-27
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Hebrews 1:1-3
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

In these last days [God] has spoken to use by a Son... who is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being. Hebrews 1:2-3 (NRSV)




When I bought a gas grill recently, it came with a guarantee that if the grill doesn't work right, I can return it. That's the way it is with machines. But what does it mean for a human being to “work right”? That is a central human question.

For the answer we go back to the beginning, to Adam and Eve. These first humans were created to live in right relationship with the Creator, reflecting God's image that was imprinted deep within them. But they chose to replace God's image with other images. The choice they made is called sin.

Sin is all the many ways we disregard God and try to create ourselves in other images. But instead of bringing us life, these entanglements bring us death. Instead of freedom, they bring us bondage. Instead of community, they bring us alienation. Instead of peace, they bring us dis-ease.

The author of Hebrews understood our human predicament to mean forgetting who we really are, forsaking God's image within us. But in Christ God gives us a way to reclaim this heritage. Jesus will show us what we are meant to be if we enter into relationship with him. And as we become like him, serving others in love, we will reflect God's image within us to the world.


Prayer: O God, teach us how to live and how to reflect your love for all creation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

Prayer Focus of Day: Someone considering following Christ

Thought for the Day: Living right grows from living in relationship with Christ.

Story shared by: M. Ripski (TN)
Source: Upper Room Daily Devotional: 9/5/11