January 1: “Made in God’s Image”

3 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Genesis 1-3
Matthew 1

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Genesis 1:26-27 (CSB): “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

It would be so easy to read over the two previous verses without giving them much thought. But we would rob ourselves of a significant blessing in doing so.

Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that when God spoke within the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), He determined to create humankind as male and female. But He would create them (us!) in such a way as to give them intrinsic value by creating every human being in His image.

What does it mean to be created in God’s image? If I were a sculptor and made a statue in my image, you would suspect it would look very similar to me, right? So, to be created in God’s image means that we resemble God in ways that the animal world and the rest of creation cannot. Of course, our reflection of God is inferior to Him, and we are tarnished by sin, but we still bear His image.

How might this theological truth affect the way we live today? Well, it should cause us to realize our enormous, intrinsic worth. Our worth is determined by God, not anything else. A brick of gold is saturated with worth even though it’s never done a thing in its life. And that is true of us. Our worth is not set by our education, color, gender, morality, or anything else. It is set by the fact that we are an image-bearer of God. So, in the moments of this day, act and think like who you are.

Further, this Christian worldview also causes us to see others as people of worth. We recognize the incredible value in people from the womb to the tomb. Therefore, treat everyone you meet today as a person of unimaginable worth. If you do this consistently, I suspect that your joy in relationships will flourish.

Spend Time in Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for the Word you have given to us that enables us to understand how we are to think. I am overwhelmed that You have created me and everyone else in Your image. But I also understand that I must embrace this truth and live it out in my life. In the power of Your Holy Spirit, I will choose to see myself and others as people of great value and live consistent with this truth. I pray this in Your Name, Amen.

Going Deeper

I love “Got Questions.” It’s a website, app, and podcast put together by conservative, serious-thinking, biblically-minded Christians. So, occasionally, I may add a link at the end of my articles with a link that I think would be helpful.

Check out this article from Got Questions: “What does it mean that humanity is made in the image of God (imago dei)?”

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com).