Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day four) “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” God’s creation was good…for just a short time. It did not take long for sin to enter the world. Then, the rest of history has been God’s working to bring about the redemption of man. We were created in God’s image and only after Christ came to redeem mankind, could we again have a relationship with God. Once God has poured His love into us through the Holy Spirit, we are able now to seek to become more like Christ. A lot of big words describing the character of Christ…perseverance, character, hope, atonement, redemption, reconciliation…we are once more being created into the image of God through His Son Jesus Christ. We could not restore the relationship with God ourselves…it was only through the work of Jesus. He is our only hope. A relationship with our Creator God? Absolutely…but only through Christ!
Category: Created for Relationships
Love
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day three)
“God created mankind in his own image.” The celebrated idea of our times is that constraint on human power is oppression, that boundaries are made to be crossed, that order is a tool of the privileged to deny people a voice. And so the story of contemporary society has become a story of endless self-expression, self-focus, and self-indulgence. The rise of the “selfie” perfectly sums up the state of our thinking. As creatures made in God’s image, we, like God, have the power to carry out our will. Interestingly, though, the Bible says “God is love”, not “God is power.” God is powerful, but his love informs his power. Without love, God’s power would destroy, not create. The same is true for us. Without love, our power isn’t our glory, but our destruction.
Create
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day two)
So God created…one of the fundamental characteristics of God is that of creator. The first chapters of the Bible are filled with the infinite creativity of our maker. Every shade of green, every variation of plant or animal. The minute differences that separate similar looking things, and the vast canvas of mountains and deserts. Our God is an artist. And we are in his image. Therefore, one of the distinguishing traits that God gave us and no other creature is the ability to create. Although we do not share God’s ability to create ex nihilo (out of nothing), each time we paint, write, sing, construct, or engineer we reflect part of his amazing nature. It was this scripture, and this reason that we have named our Arts Academy Imago (Image). We are helping foster this love of creativity with our church and the community, and to help them see that all these gifts are given by God, and they all reflect part of him. It is a joy to see these gifts develop.
Imago Dei
Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day one)
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over. . . all the earth.” Genesis 1:26. It is an uniquely Jewish/Christian thought. Not found in other religions or secular philosophy. Humans are made in the image of God. Every human is a small representation of His nature! We do not earn our value. It is ours by virtue of His plan and purpose. Some say that His likeness is seen in human CREATIVITY. He is the creator. We are “creative”–music, art, architecture, literature. Others say it is our RESPONSIBILITY to rule over the planet. Others say it is our SPIRITUALITY (lost in sin, but restored in the death and resurrection of Christ)–the capacity for real, mutual friendship with the Holy One. Whatever else it means, the image of God marks humans as uniquely valuable to Him. It proposes a HIGH dream of what is planned and possible for every life.