In keeping with the word for this year, I decided to share a message entitled "Life in His Image." I felt it was appropriate for us to go back to the beginning so that we may fully grasp the unlimited potential for this life. Being created in the image of God is no small matter. In fact, it's one of the things that gives us incredible hope for our fellow man. It has always been the confession of the church that each of us were created in the image of God. That mankind since the beginning of creation and to this day bear the indelible marks of our Creator. Without this understanding, man is left up to his own devices to create life for himself. The understanding of who God is will help you understand who you are.
For this message I decided to use a little crowd participation. I asked the simple question: What are some of the characteristics of God?
Holy
Intelligent
Creative
Relational
Gracious
Love
Etc.
As people created in the image of God, it makes perfect sense that we are also holy, intelligent, creative, relational, gracious, love, etc. The word "image" here is pivotal in our understanding. It means we bear His likeness or that we are a resemblance of Him. Whatever is a part of His image, we carry. This did not cease to happen because of Adam & Eve's fall in the Garden. We did not cease to be holy, intelligent, creative, and so on. What we lost in their fall is this understanding of ourselves. We began to see ourselves as much less that what God created us to be and we also began to see God as someone who couldn't handle us naked before Him.
The reason for this type of discussion is quite simple: We must recapture the fact that as human beings we have been created in His image. Without this understanding, life for us can lose meaning, purpose, and potential. Everything about our lives is wrapped up in Him. How we live out our existence will be according to this knowledge. Don't miss it!!!
For centuries, our conversation has been dominated by the fall of Adam. We see every human being from that perspective. We believe that since Adam fell that He was no longer holy, no longer able to love, and no longer to have a relationship with God. However, immediately after Adam's fall in the Garden, we find God coming to the man and woman He created. He clothed them, protected them, and made a promise to them. Why? I believe it's because the Father wanted them to know that He would not allow them to go into nothingness and that the dream of His creation would be realized.
I don't know of a person in this world that looks at a newborn baby & thinks that they are separated from God.
I mean...how many people could look at an infant and think that this child is far from God?
But the reality is that much of our conversation within the church has centered around these very things. We struggle to see ourselves as people made in His image AND we really struggle to see anyone outside of the church this way. But the reality is that we always bear the image of the One who has created us, just as we bear the image of our parents when they partnered together in our creation.
Knowing whose image you bear will help you to understand that love was always to be a part of you. Creativity was to always flow from your life. Being relational isn't something that you have to force because it is who you are. What we fail to realize in all of this is that when we struggle to show these traits that it's usually due to something that has happened to us. Someone told us that we were less or we believed that we could never allow this part of our nature to come out. Therefore, we live lives that embrace the lies of the enemy rather than the image of our Creator. Sin is a part of that equation as well because sin brings death. It blinds us to the reality of who God is and who we are. Why do you think Jesus died to set us free from it? It's all part of the Father's plan that His creation would return to His original intention. It was His longing for us - the love of the Creator to the created - the love of a Father for His children - a longing that would not allow His dream to die and would not allow us to reach our full potential.
Some people will take issue with the fact that I said that we are holy by nature. But that is the reality of who we are. Holiness does not just mean "moral uprightness", it can also mean "set apart." Think about the fact that vessels used in the temple were considered holy. I don't know of a dish, a bowl, or a lampstand that is morally upright. However, I do read about these things as being set apart for use in the temple. And these things were set apart IN THEIR CREATION.
As men and women created in the image of God, we were set apart from all creation. We were made holy. Does that mean we have always lived in complete relationship with our Father? Does that mean our lives have always carried a moral uprightness to them? The answer to these questions is "NO." But that does not take away from what we were created to be and become in the earth. What it does mean is that we have to recapture the beauty of the Gospel, the unconditional love of the Father, and the finished work of Christ. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. The moment we realize the truth of these statement is the moment our faith says AMEN to the reality of what is true in Christ.
Our daughter was 6 years old when she confessed Jesus as Lord. She had believed for a very long time but we tried to do the good parent thing and make sure that she "really understood." Last year, she told my wife that she remembered that time. She said, "You know mom...I ALWAYS believed that God loved me and I ALWAYS believed that I was His...until you told me different." Why did we tell her different? We told her different because it had been ingrained into us that we had to confess we were sinners before we could every accept Jesus. What that means is that I had to make my daughter confess what she WAS NOT so that she could become what SHE ALREADY WAS. Do you see that? Do you see why our conversation needs to change? Do you see why we need to recapture the beauty of the Gospel? Our kids understand it. We have taught our kids since they were old enough to learn that they were loved, that they were created in the image of God, and that they belonged to Him. May we never change the narrative.
Let me say to all of God's kids that are reading this today: You are loved, you were created in His image, and you belong to Him. Allow the reality of those statements to press in on your heart. Turn away from anything that keeps you from embracing the reality of who God is and what He has done for you. Believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Confess Him as Lord. You will be amazed at how your life will be saved in so many ways.
Enjoy the journey: A life in the image of God!!!
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Over the next few weeks I am going to do only 1 blog entry per week. I want to use this time to focus on the book that I started last year. I simply want to put my creativity into finishing it. I'm excited about all the possibilities that this year holds. May we continue to see that we possess a life without limits.
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