26 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.”27 So God created man in his own image;he created him in the image of God;he created them male and female.-- Genesis 1:26-27 (CSB)
IDENTITY (Genesis 1:26-27)
Genesis 1:26-27 speaks to the fundamental identity of every human being: We are IMAGE BEARERS of the one true and living God. Human beings are distinct in all of creation because we are created in God's image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him forever. We are fundamentally like God in our capacity to connect and relate to Him. This means that each person on planet earth has irrevocable worth and undeniable dignity. This means that YOU are irreplaceable in all of creation. You are not your own but belong, body and soul, in life and death to God. While this is amazing news, we don't always feel this way nor do we treat others this way. Many times it is because we buy into a lie about who we are. Here are 5 lies of Identity from Lesslie Newbigin:
5 LIES OF IDENTITY:
- I am what I HAVE.
- I am what I DO.
- I am what OTHERS SAY about me.
- I am nothing more than my WORST MOMENT.
- I am nothing less that my BEST MOMENT. - (Lesslie Newbigin)
"You have an identity, not because you have invented one or because you have a little hard core of selfhood that is unchanged, but because you have a witness of who you are. What you don’t understand or see, the bits of yourself you can’t pull together in a convincing story, are all held in a single gaze of love." - Rowan WilliamsWe are image bearers of the one-true and living God. It is who we are, it is who God created us to be. Nothing can diminish our value or worth before God as we belong to him!Who we are is wrapped up in WHOSE WE ARE!
