26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26-27)
Every human, male and female, is created in the image of God. Each is thus ingrained with equal worth and value.
Every human, male and female, is needed to fully “image” God. Each finds in the other an echo of God missing in himself/ herself.
These lines at the beginning of our Bibles are so vital. They remind us just how worthy and wonderful are each individual around us. They call us to refuse to base our evaluation of others based on income, education, political affiliation, or any other such externals. These lines remind us that every human, from the homeless woman under the interstate bridge to the CEO in the corner office, has equal value–because each is made in the image of God.
And they awaken us to the reality that in others we see glimpses of God that round out and flesh out our understanding of the holiness and wholeness of God. We learn who he is as we interact with who he has made.
“Thank you Father, for making me in you image, for giving me value and worth apart from my ‘success’ at work or at home. Help me to see each person today as someone made in the image of God and to treasure them. And help me to see in each person today something of you that I do not yet see. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
Action step: As you see each person today, pray this line, “Help me treat him/ her as someone made in the image of God.”
