Last week we studied God as Creator of all living things. This weeks, let’s personalize this just a bit: God made us, in His own image. (Genesis 1:26)
Our older children like to quote that verse when our youngest asks what God looks like. If God has a physical form we would one day see, I have no doubt it would be similar to the human figure.
God knows how confining the human body can be. It limits what we are able to do through its needs of rest, for energy, and simply quiet time! Jesus knew hunger, he knew pain. God also knows what we endure, what limits we physically have.
Think of how humans are emotional beings and ponder for just a moment if just maybe, we are emotional because God himself is emotional, and we were created in His image. Jesus on earth knew love, He knew being hated, and He knew righteous anger. In short, He experienced all human emotions. Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayer, “Father, take this cup from me”, and on the cross, when He cried, “ My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus knew what it was to feel forgotten, misunderstood. He knew what it was to be accused unjustly. He knows how we sometimes feel. Do not think God does not know, He does.
Our emotions keep us from merely acting out roles as robots. Our minds take in information, and our hearts process the emotional impact, if any, the information has on us.
We can be, should be, emotional beings without being driven solely by those emotions. The fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:7) need to rein in our emotions; providing us with that peace which passes understanding, that loves that supersedes insult, and that patience, that appears when we are exhausted yet more is demanded.
God created us as spiritual beings, created in His own image. We yearn to worship something, someone. We want to glorify God. We desire to know that this life is not all there is. Our souls search for spiritual significance: because He is the Creator, we are what is created. For this reason we should want to give glory to God for what He has done.
Genesis 1:31 a “God saw all that He had made and it was very good.”
Reflections:
1) How do I view myself and other people when I think about us all being made in God’s image?
2) Are there any changes I should implement to better care for what God has created in me ? ( eat more healthfully, exercise more, sleep more, etc)
3) How can I better control my emotions?
4) How can I better acknowledge and nurture my spiritual side?
5) When I look in the mirror, do I see God’s creation, which He himself, proclaims is ‘good’, or do I allow the Father of lies to dominate my thoughts with negativity and condemnation?
I would love to hear your responses! Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading this blog, please return by Monday, June 4, for the next post.