When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God. Genesis 5:1 (NLT).Read More »

When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God. Genesis 5:1 (NLT).

You are created in God’s image. Now think about that …

God doesn’t make junk. You may look in the mirror and think you’re less than perfect, but that’s a lie from the devil. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (cf. Psalm 139:14). At your core, your identity is rooted and established in Christ. You are patterned after God.

When I look at my children, I see the family resemblance. The evidence is there for all to see. Christie, Matthew and Jonathan, are Murray’s. Look at the shape of their faces, the colour of their eyes, their mannerisms, their physiques – you can’t miss it. Just look at them and you’ll see something of their mother and father.

Similarly, you’re a chip off the original block. Not externally. But internally. You’re made in the image of God. You’re your heavenly Father’s daughter – your heavenly Father’s son. Think about that …

When people look at you there are things about you that give them a glimpse of your heavenly Father. Not in your physical resemblance. People may get a glimpse of your heavenly Father in the way you instinctively know right from wrong, in your desire to love, in your values, in your yearning to go deeper than materialism, or in your desire for meaning and purpose in life.

And then there’s your creative side. People may get a glimpse of your heavenly Father through the way you write, dance, sing, think, draw, joke or play. Your identity is intrinsically rooted in God. You are created as one related to Him. You are uniquely and profoundly an image bearer of the heavenly Father.

In the town of Stepanavan, Armenia, there’s a woman whom everyone calls “Palasan’s Wife.” She had her own name, of course, but the townspeople call her by her husband’s name to honour her. When a devastating earthquake struck Armenia in 1988, Palasan rushed to the elementary school where his son was a student. With the building falling down around him he pulled twenty-eight children to safety before an aftershock completely collapsed the building and killed him. So the people of Stepanavan honour his memory by calling his young widow “Palasan’s Wife.”

Sometimes a person’s greatest honour is not who he or she is but to whom he or she is related. You are related to Christ. You are His image bearer. You are identified with Him. And that’s why believers are called by His name – that’s why God’s children are called Christians (Christ in).