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1999-06-04 - Whose Image Do You See?
Gen 1:27 (NNAS) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Every single human being in the world is created in God's image. I am. You are. Slobodan Milosevic is. Knowing that each human being is created in our Father's image should alter our perspective -- of ourselves as well as others. When we look at the rude person who cuts us off in traffic, someone who yells at us unfairly, or that relative that really grates on our nerves, we should see God's image. Granted, that image is very submerged sometimes. But underneath the obnoxious behavior, underneath the irritating habits, underneath the rough exterior, is a person God created to reflect Himself. There is a myriad of reasons that people don't adequately reflect Him. Perhaps they have never heard the Gospel. Maybe they are Christians but are going through a rough time. We can pray for them, offer an ear or refer them to someone who can. I challenge you to do this with me: Ask God to help you look at those around you through Jesus' eyes. As I have said before, it can be a revolutionary prayer.
When you look at yourself, do you see God's image reflected? If not, why not? As Christians we should look more and more like our Lord:
2 Cor 3:18 (NNAS) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
It is true that sometimes we think too highly of ourselves. But it has been my experience that many Christians, in fact, do the opposite: They think more lowly of themselves than God does. They look in the mirror and see the person who has made mistakes, the person who is not living up to someone' standards--their own or someone else's, the person held back for some reason, from accomplishing what they would like to accomplish. They fail to see the person God loves and sent His son to die for, the person who with God's infinite resources, has unlimited potential. When you see someone abusing drugs or involved in some other destructive activity, you are viewing a person who does not think as highly of himself as God does.
How can we grow to look more like our Heavenly Daddy? We can pray and read His word every day. In the Bible, we learn more about Him, and how to be like Him Also we need to be going to a local church -- God intends this for us, to provide a place of worship, fellowship and service. (Please see Hebrews 10:24-25; Ephesians 5:18-20.) If you would like to read more about spiritual disciplines that can help us grow spiritually, I recommend the devotional series by David (david@masseyre.com). You can find them at: