So God created man in his own image

I’ve read these words a thousand times, so it’s easy to just read right past them without thinking about it.

But apparently, they’re words that God thought were so important, he took the time to have it written twice in the same verse.

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)

In other words, when God created the human race, he created reflections of himself.

Every time we show kindness to another, we reflect God’s image.

Whenever we show mercy and grace to another, we reflect God’s image.

Everything that is good within us reflects the image of God.

So whenever we look at another person, we should see them as images of the God who created us.

I have to admit, though, that sometimes it’s hard to see, because unlike Adam and Eve in the beginning, we are all distorted reflections of God. The brokenness that comes from sin has marred that image.

Sometimes when I’m walking in the underground mall in Umeda, I smell a horrible smell, and when I look up I see a homeless person that apparently hasn’t taken a bath in weeks. It’s hard for me to see God’s image in him.

Or sometimes when I’ve taught elementary or high school students that are disrespectful and stir up a lot of trouble, it’s hard for me to see God’s image in them.

And because of that, it’s easy in my heart to devalue them. To despise them. To see them as of little worth.

And yet, God sees these very same people and says, “They were created in my image, distorted though that image might be. What right do you have to look down on them? What right do you have to despise what I have created? I valued them so much that I sent my Son to die for them.”

And it’s not like the image of God in me is not distorted either. By judging these people and despising them, I can see that the image of God in me is clearly marred as well.

When I look at my life and all the sin that’s there, I have to wonder how people see me? How distorted is the image of God I reflect when people look at me? Honestly, I’d rather not know.

Yet God doesn’t give up on me. He keeps on working in me to renew me and make me more like himself. As it says in II Corinthians 3:18,

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

And if God doesn’t give up on me, who am I to give up on others as lost causes? Who am I to despise others?

For by the mercy that I myself have received, others may be transformed back into the likeness of the God that created them too.

So the question for me is, “How much will I reflect God’s image to those around me whose images have been marred by sin? Will I show them the same mercy that I have received?”

Lord, all I want for others to see
is a reflection of you inside of me.

Like the sun on the still water,
let me be a mirror of your heart.

I want to walk in the image of you,
like a child imitating what his Father would do.

A mirror of your heart. — Chris Christian