Created in God's image

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

As Philip Yancey suggests, “The word image is familiar to us today, but the meaning of the word has leaked away so now it connotes virtually the opposite of its former meaning of ‘likeness.’” In advertising, image refers to the projected, often contrived, picture or representation of something. The image and the reality often are quite different.

But you were made in God’s image, in His likeness, touched by the finger of the Almighty.

In his book In His Image, the renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand, along with co-author Philip Yancey, argues that the physical body is an amazing creation that could never have happened by chance. More than this, it is the spirit of man that really testifies loudly to the contention we are created in the image of God. Dr. Brand, who spent most of his life bringing healing and help to lepers, writes, “Yet increasingly I have come to realize that the physical shell I devote so much energy to is not the whole person. My patients are not mere collections of tendons, muscles, hair follicles, nerve cells, and skin cells. Each of them, regardless of deformed appearance and physical damage, contains an immortal spirit and is a vessel of the image of God.”

Going beyond that which reflects the image of God, get to know God Himself – His power, His compassion, His beauty, His sensitivity, His creativity, and His knowledge and understanding. Only then will you begin to see that humankind is not a matter of happenstance or chance. You were, indeed, created in the image of God.

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering. Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Hebrews 13:1-3, 7-8