Creation

I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve tried to read The Bible all the way through, cover to cover.  It seems like every year I decide that I’m going to do it and every year, come January 3^rd, I’m usually a day or two behind, which eventually leads to me giving up on the process, or worse, forgetting about the endeavor altogether. 

I’ve read Genesis chapter 1 more times than I can remember… Maybe because it’s the starting point in all of my failed reading attempts…  Maybe it’s because I argue about the theology behind it more than I should…  It might just be because it’s the first chapter in the entire Bible, but Genesis 1 is one of my favorite chapters in The Bible.  Not only do we get to read about God creating the world and everything in it, but also we see God commission man with a really neat task.  It’s a very humbling, very inspiring chapter that I can go to whenever I need a perspective check.

Nestled in between the great creating power of God, and him commanding me to “be fruitful and multiply” (Men, can I get an Amen?), we get verse 27.

            “So God created man in his own image,

                        in the image of God he created him;

                        male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27

The idea of being “created in God’s image” can raise a handful of questions?  Does that mean God has a physical body?  How is it different than ours?  Does He have both mommy and daddy parts?  Is God doing the creating, or is there another he that is creating in God’s image?  This verse, packed in between power and purpose is often overlooked, but holds such value when it comes to unpacking what it means to be created in the image of God.

We see right from the beginning God creating a world where man and woman are created equally.  While I do feel God has set certain roles aside for men, and other roles for women (sorry stay at home dads), both sexes are equally important.  God, right from the beginning sets the stage for both men and women to play equal parts in representing his image on Earth.  It’s much harder to see the nurturing, alluring, caring side of God, when you look into the heart of a man.  And when you look for the image of God in a female counterpart, you generally don’t see the fierce warrior, the provider, the speak-truth-into-darkness side of God that you should see in men.  Both sexes are necessary.  Both are equal.

Because we were created in God’s image we have a higher worth than the rest of creation.  Out of all the plants and animals, he points to us as the aspect of creation most like him.  We are set aside to subdue the earth.  We can relate to him better because even if it’s just a small portion, we know a part of us is like him. 

But how does this effect our perception of others?

It’s easy to build our self-esteem, constantly reminding ourselves that we are created in the image of God.  But if unchecked, this mentality could lead to a pretentious view of oneself.  It’s easier to believe I’m created in God’s image, but to believe the crack heads, the pimps, and the prostitutes are too?  It’s a bit harder than just using scripture to fluff up our self worth.

Too often I work diligently at appearing to appreciate someone while knocking them down in my mind.  I’ll catch myself making fun of people when they aren’t around.  I think highly of myself, but will knock the actions of others, even friends, when I’m alone in my thoughts.  Too often we assign a lower value to someone, based solely on their appearance, their actions, or  their place in society. 

How can I work on this?  How do I begin to train myself to see God’s image in even the lowest of the low?  I think it begins with retraining our thought processes.  A smarter man than me told me: “every time you are tempted to demean someone in your

thoughts bless them instead.  Replace what you were about to say with ‘That person

has unimaginable value as a bearer of God’s image.’ Or ‘I recognize the worth of that person as reflecting my Fatherʼs image.’ “

It’s more difficult than it seems.  As we slowly begin retraining our minds, we really begin to see how often we knock God’s creation, God’s image.  I’m working on it myself, and I hope you can begin to as well.