Genesis 1:26-31 (NLT)
‘Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground – everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!’
I wonder if anyone has ever said to you that you look like someone else; or if, when you look in the mirror, you see a family likeness? All of us belong to God’s family – he calls us his children – and in Genesis 1:26 we read,
‘Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness.’
But do we see a likeness to God when we look at each other?
Every person in this world is created in God’s image and is of equal value to him. All of us reflect God’s likeness in some way, but how often do we look at people and stop to think they are made in God’s image? CS Lewis wrote:
‘There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit.’
So the truth is that all people are created by God in his image, and that means that all people are of worth to him, and as such, should be to us too.
In his play The Confidential Clerk TS Eliot wrote:
‘There’s something in us, in all of us, which isn’t just hereditary, but something unique. Something we have been from eternity. Something straight from God.’
It is in our recognition that we are all handmade in love by our creator God that we understand our worth and find our true value. Rick Warren says, ‘God is love. He didn’t need us. But he wanted us. And that is the most amazing thing.’
However, we need to remember that this is not only true of us, but also true of every human being; and, as we are all created in his image, so we are all equally valued by him. It is not enough for us simply to recognise this truth; we have to consider how it impacts the way we live our lives each day – how we see and treat others.
This year’s Helping-Hand Appeal calls us to focus on gender justice. All around the world The Salvation Army is journeying alongside women, supporting them to know their rights and encouraging them to take their place as equal and active members of society. The money we raise for the Helping-Hand Appeal this year will be used to support women and their families in Argentina to find safety, support and acceptance so they too can know and understand how valued they are.
REFLECTION
As we listen to the song ‘For the one’ by Brian and Jenn Johnson, let us take some time to reflect on how we can live our lives each day secure in the knowledge that we are all loved and valued by God, and how we can show this in the way we care for others because we are all equal in his sight.
