“And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and they shall rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heaven and over the animals and over all the earth and over all the creeping things that creep upon the earth.’ And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and over all the beasts that tread upon the earth.’ And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every seed bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed bearing fruit; it will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and to all the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves upon the earth, in which there is a living spirit, every green herb to eat,’ and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.” Tanakh (Jewish Bible) Genesis: 26-31
And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” This is probably one of the most important verses in the entire Bible. Why? Because if you don’t know and believe this then nothing else matters in your existence as a person. You are just stardust with no purpose. You are the product of meaningless evolutionary processes. There are no moral guidelines by which to live out your days on earth. You are simply matter and nothing more.
Sadly, there are many people who do not believe they are made in God’s image. Especially young people. I believe this is part of the reason their suicide rate is so high. They see no reason for being. They see life as not having meaning. They feel empty and without a purpose.
This unbelief is why we are able to kill unborn babies, enslave people of different cultures and races, walk past the homeless on the street in need of a soft bed and a warm meal. These people are not worth more than ourselves in the eyes of evolution and atheism. In fact, I would dare say that in evolutionary terms, the sick, diseased, and invalid among us would necessarily be exterminated as they are burdens to the evolutionary process. You know, that whole “survival of the fittest thing.” We would place no intrinsic value on humans that have been devalued and therefore have no reason to act selflessly in their favor.
If we are not made in the image of an Almighty Creator then we are nothing. I am nothing. You are nothing.
Oh, but to know and believe that you are made in the image of God, in His inner and outer likeness, puts more value in your little toe than all other matter in the universe combined. It makes every human soul on the face of the planet have worth far greater than anyone can conceive. Whether it’s a preborn baby, a person suffering from brain damage, an old person dying of cancer, a homeless person living under a bridge, or you, we have infinite worth. Whether you believe this to be true or not does not change the truth- your inherent value comes from the fact that you were created, not evolved. You were a thought in God’s mind before you even existed. He planned your existence long before your mom and dad came together.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV
You are no cosmic accident! Satan, the father of lies, would have you believe that you are an accident, but God intended for you to be here from the beginning. You have a divine purpose and plan from our Abba Father. He says in His Word, “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 Amplified
God continues speaking to Jeremiah by letting him know that He is not an absentee father, that He is there for him when he seeks Him, “Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 29: 12-14 AMP
God tells us in His Word that He is always there for us when we call upon Him. That He will never leave us nor forsake us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NKJV
And He planned for you to be like Him! Wow! You are like God. You are not God or a god, but you are like Him in His character and nature. You have the ability to love, to walk in faith, to have authority over the enemy, to be a blessing, to be filled with His spirit. You are made in His image and likeness. And if you are redeemed through His Son, then you also have the mind of Christ, the Anointed One:
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV
But notice I said you have the ability to do those things, not that you will do them. You are like God in another way in that you have free will. You get choose this day what you will do and what you will believe. Although God wishes all will come to this knowledge, He cannot force you to believe. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 KJV
If you choose not to believe the truth of God’s word that you are indeed made in His image and likeness, then you are choosing to believe that your life has no value, no meaning, no reason for existing except by accident. You have chosen to believe the lie of the enemy.
But if you will decide to take that leap of faith and believe your Creator’s ink is written on every fiber of your being, stamped on every mile of your DNA, then I know life will take on a whole new meaning. No, I would say that life will have meaning. Period. Choose this day to believe that the Almighty Creator God is Who He says He is! Choose this day to see yourself as made in His image and likeness, having His faith, His authority, His love. His Spirit. Choose to believe God and your life will never be the same.
In His Service,
Rebecca Hamilton, Founder/ Executive Director
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!