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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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In the Image of God
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The 5:45 a.m. alarm always startles me to the reality of a new day. Although I’d prefer another hour of sleep, as I greet myself in the bathroom mirror, I am very much aware of the change that needs to take place in the next forty-five minutes. I inherited the early-morning-puffy-cheek-syndrome from my mother. She also blessed me with thick, baby-fine hair, which at 5:45 a.m. means "wild!" Did you ever notice your eyes are crooked as they attempt to peer out at you from the pre-dawn mirror? But then, maybe that has more to do with the dark circles that underline them. I’ve also noticed that no matter what I choose to wear to bed, a night of wrestling with covers or a snoring husband wins me the "Most Unkempt" award in the morning. Perhaps I should not look in my mirror. The image reflected does little for those gnawing little fears that sometimes I’m not quite sure who I am.
Although I am grateful that the image in the mirror is still loved by God, I could easily discard it and not particularly sense its loss. There is however an image that I would like to think that my choice would have been to tenaciously cling to. Adam was created in the image of God. Adam was fashioned from the dust of the ground and he had to learn to be human but he was modeled from a pattern that was divine – not in a physical sense, but in ways that relate to character, capacity, and personality. By God’s design, Adam was created with the full capabilities of enjoying a relationship with God Himself. He was wholly alive, wholly capable of being responsive to the God who created him.
Decades ago John W. Peterson wrote a song entitled In the Image of God. The words first remind us of the image Adam bore, an image all too soon marred by sin. Then the eternal plan of God with an incomprehensible love and grace stoops to earth to offer restoration – to give life again in the image of God. When I come to God, I come completely unworthy in myself. I come with an image that is corrupted and insensitive to the very One who made me. I come with nothing to give, and I find that God has given all. He doesn’t "fix up" the old, but in His love, His mercy, and His grace, He gives a whole new image that I might enjoy the delights of His Fatherhood, the direction of His Lordship, and the resources of His Kingship. My spirit is freed. My inner person, transformed. I can love. I can give. A new image is mine. I am a partaker of Christ Himself. The gift is unspeakable. The exchange is undeserved. My response is one of awesome praise that resounds in every expression of my being.
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— Bev |
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