In the Image of God
Genesis 1:26 & 27
Why did God want to create man? What purpose was man created to fulfill?
Have you ever been in a foreign country where you understood little or none of the language that was being spoken around you? All of a sudden, you hear someone speaking your native tongue. Your ears perk up and you are drawn to that person. You have the urge to speak to this person and you do. "Where are you from," and "What do you do?" You discover things in common and a bond is formed. It's because in a foreign land, those who are similar to you stand out and are obvious.
God wants this too. He wants to be with beings that are like Him - someone He can have a special relationship with, someone who shares essential attributes with Him and with whom companionship is possible. I believe God created us to be His friends; not just acquaintances, but close, personal friends. In order for that to happen, He created us with certain characteristics that we can have in common with Him.
What are those characteristics? The first one that comes to my mind is creativity. God made us creative beings; it's one of the ways that we are like Him. "But I'm not very creative," you may say. Not all creativity involves the fine arts. Some people's creativity is in how they show the people around them that they care about them, or in the relationships they have with their family.
I recently read an article on creativity I found in Scientific American's "Mind" magazine. I'd like to share a few sentences from that article. "Steven M. Smith, a professor of psycology at the Institute for Applied Creativity at Texas A&M University, says many people believe that only a handful of geniuses are capable of making creative contributions to humanity: 'It just isn't true. Creative thinking is the norm in human beings and can be observed in almost all mental activities.' The ease with which we routinely string together appropriate words during a conversation should leave no doubt that our brains are fundamentally creative." (Scientific American Mind, Volume 16, Number 1, page 18)
Another characteristic we can share with God is in the ability to love the unlovely. This doesn't mean to tolerate or ignore those who do us wrong, but rather to actively love them! Greet them as friends and keep them in your prayers. I believe this is a foundational truth - this is not optional. It's part of being God's friend. Matthew 5:43-48 tells us that this is an attribute that we can share with God (if we chose to). I believe that the more we share these characteristics with God the easier it is to have that special close relationship with Him that He desires.
Why did God want to create man? What purpose was man created to fulfill?
Have you ever been in a foreign country where you understood little or none of the language that was being spoken around you? All of a sudden, you hear someone speaking your native tongue. Your ears perk up and you are drawn to that person. You have the urge to speak to this person and you do. "Where are you from," and "What do you do?" You discover things in common and a bond is formed. It's because in a foreign land, those who are similar to you stand out and are obvious.
God wants this too. He wants to be with beings that are like Him - someone He can have a special relationship with, someone who shares essential attributes with Him and with whom companionship is possible. I believe God created us to be His friends; not just acquaintances, but close, personal friends. In order for that to happen, He created us with certain characteristics that we can have in common with Him.
What are those characteristics? The first one that comes to my mind is creativity. God made us creative beings; it's one of the ways that we are like Him. "But I'm not very creative," you may say. Not all creativity involves the fine arts. Some people's creativity is in how they show the people around them that they care about them, or in the relationships they have with their family.
I recently read an article on creativity I found in Scientific American's "Mind" magazine. I'd like to share a few sentences from that article. "Steven M. Smith, a professor of psycology at the Institute for Applied Creativity at Texas A&M University, says many people believe that only a handful of geniuses are capable of making creative contributions to humanity: 'It just isn't true. Creative thinking is the norm in human beings and can be observed in almost all mental activities.' The ease with which we routinely string together appropriate words during a conversation should leave no doubt that our brains are fundamentally creative." (Scientific American Mind, Volume 16, Number 1, page 18)
Another characteristic we can share with God is in the ability to love the unlovely. This doesn't mean to tolerate or ignore those who do us wrong, but rather to actively love them! Greet them as friends and keep them in your prayers. I believe this is a foundational truth - this is not optional. It's part of being God's friend. Matthew 5:43-48 tells us that this is an attribute that we can share with God (if we chose to). I believe that the more we share these characteristics with God the easier it is to have that special close relationship with Him that He desires.
posted by d2 at 6:02 AM
3 Comments:
"I believe God created us to be His friends; not just acquaintances, but close, personal friends."
I agree. God walked with Adam in the cool of the evening. There was relationship there, a relationship that was broken when we humans turned our backs on Him.
"He wants be with beings that are like Him - someone He can have a special relationship with"
I wonder, do you know Jesus? Do you understand He is the only way? We can't make it on our own to God. Jesus is the "translator" that we need.
Thank you for your comment - I feel like I've made a new Christian friend.
To answer your question "Do you know Jesus," yes, but what I truly desire is a closer, deeper relationship with Him.
I have attended church regularly all my life, but up until the last few years, it was a "performance-based religion." By that, I don't mean that I was just going through the motions. What I mean is that the focus of my spiritual life was behavior. Intellectually, it didn't make sense to me, but it was the way I was raised and I didn't know any other way.
Through Christian friends and God's guidence, I began to understand how salvation works through the relationship we have with God. This has now become the focus of my spiritual life.
Am I satisfied with that relationship? No, I feel a longing to be closer, to feel His presence more. That's what this spiritual journal is all about.
I look forward to hearing from you again - you are a source of encouragement and I thank you for that.
i feel that the most awesome thing we can create is life. Not just an ordinary life but a meaningful life that actually makes an impact on this world.
by God's grace, as we use our spiritual gifts, talents, and experiences to God's glory, we can create a unique life that is a blessing to God and others
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