Identity: In His Image

(repost from my FB notes)

Where to begin? What is step 1 in finding out who I am? Honestly, I don't know where the best place to start is. But we have to start somewhere--so why not at the beginning?

Then God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our own likeness."
Genesis 1:26a

When I said that to search for our own identity would lead us face to face with God, I was not exaggerating. We are made in the image of God and so our being reflects who God is.

 Consider a painter who paints paintings or a musician who writes music (or something similar that you can relate to). When a musician writes a song, each song is unique. But each one also has a piece of the author in it. The words, the melody, the paintstrokes, the colors--all reflect what is in the artist's heart. In the same way we are the creation of the Most High--each one unique, but all bearing the mark of our Maker.

Think about that. Our lives are a shadow of the Most High. His breath lives in us. His heart was poured into our making. We are His children.

I saw a church sign once that said "You may be the only Bible some people read." How do you view the Bible? I see it as a chronicle of our history and a description of God's character.

And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:3

Letters on a page are dead. But when God's character, His word is written on a person's heart--then it becomes alive. We are made to be living Torahs. Everything we do is reflected onto our Creator. His Name is on us--we must uphold it. But now I'm leaving the subject at hand.

Being made in God's image has two big implications. First, it tells us about who we are. We are His children, He is our father. We have His breath.There is a beauty within us, placed there by God Himself. We are special in God's eyes. It is as if, at our core God's name is written on us. God's name deserves respect.

But we live in a fallen world. The paintings of our lives get dust and scratches and crayon markings. Which brings us to the second implication--who we should be. God is in the business of restoring His works. We must allow His hand to mold us into who He wants us to be. We must let His name shine through us so that people can see and give glory to the one that made us. As has been said before, you may be the only Bible some people read.

And don't let the impossibility of the task hinder you. Being God's creation means you don't own yourself. God owns you. Therefore it is our duty to live out our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him. And when we fail, He is merciful. He is our Father. He will pick us back up and dust us off, and we must march on in His strength.

When God declared His name for all generations He said, "I am who I am." He is not someone else. He will never be someone else. He will always be true to who He is. We must always be true to who we are. And that is first and foremost a child of the Most High God, created in His image, and restored by His love.
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Think about what it means to be made in our Father's image. What does it mean to you in your own words?