Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God created man in His own image,

in the image of God He created him;

male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26, 27 NASB)

Who am I? Who are you? We are human beings made in the image of God. God did not speak man and woman into being. He fashioned Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (See Gen. 2:7; He made woman from man. See 2:21-23). Being made in God’s image means we have a unique built-in capacity to reflect the character of God in our lives. At the end of each day of creation, God “saw that it was good.” After creating humanity in his own image, “behold, it was very good” (1:31 ESV).

What does this mean for us today? As Richard Pratt writes in Designed for Dignity, this means every human being ought to view himself and others with both dignity and humility. You have inherent dignity. You are made in his image. But then there is humility. You are made in his image. We are the creatures. he is the Creator. He made us from dust: humility. He breathed into us the breath of life: dignity. This idea needs much more deep and robust reflection.

For now let us allow the Bible to apply this for us. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3, 4 CSB) Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) But how do we do these things, especially in the challenging culture within which we live? Grace and the Holy Spirit. He gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6; cf. Prov. 3:34).

PRAYER: Dear Lord, please cultivate a humble spirit within me that flows into my treatment of others. And help me to remember that each human being I meet is made in your image, and that I am too. Thank you for the grace and mercy you give me through your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.