A few days ago, someone gave me a Christmas gift. “It reminded me of you,” they said. My interest was immediately piqued. I was about to gain insight into how this person saw me by studying the gift they gave me. Some people view me as a person entirely broken, incompetent and unable to survive life. This person didn’t. Her gift spoke of love, joy and fun. It was truly beautiful.
As I reflected on the experience, I realized that there is a slight commonality between this gift-giving experience and our relationship to God. We have been made in His image. However, I propose that we do not seek to discover who He is by studying ourselves; but rather discover who we are by studying Him. Before the universe became broken through the disobedience of humanity, one could learn about God by studying the goodness of the human race. Now studying humanity may entirely confuse the student of God as to the actual nature of His character.
Jesus calls the attention of His opponents to the fact that Psalm 82:6 calls people “gods”. As Jesus challenges the way these religious people thought, He notes, “If he called them ‘gods’ to whom the word of God came – and Scripture cannot be set aside – what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?” (John 10:36)
If you find this saying of Jesus offensive, never fear! So did many of those who heard Him say it the first time!
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What does it mean for God’s Son, Jesus Christ, fully human and fully God, to quote such a Scripture while noting that Scripture CANNOT be set aside. We are not to ignore anything it says!
What does it mean to be called Jesus’ sister or brother? (Hebrews 2:11) What does it mean to be called God’s daughter or son? (Galatians 3:26 and many other Scriptures) What does this say about your essence? What does it say about your potential? What does it say about YOUR VALUE?
Today as we go about our day, let us rejoice that we are created in the image of God! Capitalize on your creativity! Lean into every good choice that you can! When presented with the opportunity to choose between something good and bad, choose the good. When presented with a choice between the good and the excellent, choose the excellent. Reflect the character of God and rejoice in communion with Him. Come to Him through Christ and dance your way through this day with Him leading the waltz!
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