Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His [own] image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
What’s the purpose of a reflection? Certainly not to point to the reflection itself. If you’ve ever seen a reflection, you know that it’s single purpose is to point to the thing that it’s reflecting. If we’ve been made in God’s image, we know that we reflect a part of Who God is and therefore were made to point back to Him.
I’m convinced that so often we shy away from who God has made us to be instead of rejoicing in our identity as His image bearers. So what makes you….you? What do you love? What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy? For example, I love music, adventures, perfection, and laughing. All of these qualities about me reflect Who God is. Just think about all the people in the world, past and present. Think about how diverse and incredibly unique each one is, each one made to reflect the image of God in varying ways.
However, because of sin, our purpose of glorifying God has been turned upside down. Instead of using our qualities to point to God, we point to ourselves by either taking pride in who we are on our own or wallowing in self-pity because we’re not as good as we think we should be. However, through the gospel, Jesus has provided the way to restore us back to the joy of fulfilling our original purpose. By surrendering to Christ, He gives us new life. In Him, we find not the extinguishing of ourselves, but rather the awakening of ourselves as we see our lives and the qualities that make us unique as part of a greater purpose: to point others to the glory of God. When we see ourselves through this perspective, we can’t look down on ourselves or puff ourselves up in pride. All we can do is rejoice in the wonder of our Creator Who made us in His very image!
So let’s take who we are and live vibrantly. Let’s use everything about ourselves (our gifts, talents, personality, passions, ideas, and dreams) to love Jesus more and to point others to Him. WE are God’s image bearers, created to reflect a part of Who He is–that’s an incredible truth worth rejoicing in!
Good reminder, Brianne!