Monday March 14, 2022

Today is Monday, March 14 and this week we are exploring what the Bible says about the nature of humanity and our relationship with God.

As I step into this quiet space alone with my Creator, I pause and become still. I breathe slowly and deeply and focus my heart and mind on the presence of the God who loves me.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord, I worship you in the serene stillness of the dawning day with praise and thanksgiving. Help me hear the message you have for me. Speak to me through the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I join the ancient people of God, praising him with the words of Psalm 8.

What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Psalm 8:4-8

Pause and Pray

This week we consider the nature of human beings. Humanity is created in the image of God and given a purpose by the Creator of the universe. The Bible helps us understand the intent and meaning behind our existence and how we relate to a God who is holy and mighty. We begin in the beginning – with the book of Genesis. Over the course of six days, the first creation account unfolds in beautiful, poetic order. God creates the heavens and earth, day and night, sky, land and seas, vegetation and trees, sun, moon and stars, fish and birds, livestock and wild animals. Before the sixth day is complete, God finalizes his marvelous accomplishment with the creation of the first man and woman (Genesis 1:1-25).

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28

The God who created the sun, moon, and stars, the earth in all its glory, and the animals in their vast array also created me. Humans are made in the image and likeness of God. After Adam and Eve ate the apple and fell into sin in Genesis 3, the question is, do humans still bear the image of God? Do I bear the image of God? The answer is yes. God created me. I share in God’s likeness and retain God’s image of inherent goodness. The “image” is glimpsed in my personal, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and relational self. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they lost God’s original image, were banished from Eden and separated from God. The image of God we bear since the time of the Fall is a distorted image. The New Testament says that Jesus Christ came to restore us to God’s image, renewing us in knowledge, righteousness and holiness.

Ask: When do I recognize God’s image and likeness in me? When am I aware that the good image of God is distorted or unapparent in me?

Pause and Pray

Holy and blessed Lord, after your glorious universal creation you lovingly made mankind in your image. I bear your likeness and am tinged with glory. Thank you for blessing me and entrusting me to care for your wondrous created world. You give my life purpose and meaning. I am grateful for the opportunity to be fully restored to your image and likeness through your Son, my savior, Jesus Christ. I read the words from Genesis again and listen for the message you have for me.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I am God’s creation and he wants to communicate with me through his living word. I daily practice the First 15 to help me learn to listen for the voice of God. I consider the value placed on my life by the world. How does knowing I am made in the image of God change my perspective of my inherent value? What difference does it make in my life to know that the likeness of God can be restored in me because of Jesus Christ and I can mature in holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit? I evaluate how I have already fulfilled God’s purpose for my life and ponder what work God may have for me to complete in the future.

Pause and Pray

God of the universe, I welcome you into the recesses of my heart. You created every part of me and know me inside and out. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Come, teach me how to live a life that reflects an undistorted image of love and grace to others and shines like stars in a dark world.
Amen.

This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “humankind” when they were created. Genesis 5:1-2 NRSV

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:49

I leave this time of prayer and go to reflect the image of God and shine the likeness of heaven to a hurting world.

Amen.