Imago Dei

'God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them.' ~ Genesis 1:27 (NET Bible)

Paintings don't paint themselves. Sculptures cannot mold themselves. Neither songs nor poems are able to write themselves. 

You & I didn't create ourselves either. We didn't appear on this planet randomly, the circumstantial results of the Big Bang Theory. We simply didn't just materialize on this planet like the various 'away team' crew members did on weekly episodes of Star Trek. 

We were intentionally created, carefully woven & spun, lovingly molded & fashioned, with brushstrokes, fingerprints and lyrical storylines unique to us, by the Master Artist, the Creator Extraordinaire: God. Our Father. 

In The Living Bible, throughout the Creation story in Genesis 1, the phrase which pops up at the end of each day's descriptions is 'and God was pleased.' Except at the end of Day 6; instead, for this particular day on which man & woman were brought & breathed into existence, made in the ‘Imago Dei’ – the image of God -- these words were spoken:

'Then God looked over all that He had made, & it was excellent in every way.' ~ Genesis 1:31, TLB

Did you catch that? Don't skim over it. EXCELLENT. In EVERY way. 

So why, when we look in the mirror, do we hate what we see? We bemoan our freckles or lack of them. We're embarrassed over that gap in our front teeth or that much too prominent birthmark or our protruding nose. We complain about our eye color; our curly or poker straight hair; our too thin or too thick lips.

Millions of dollars are spent each year on products & services that promise to make us look better, younger, more attractive. Flawless.  And completely different.  We can suddenly find ourselves unrecognizable. Why do we desire to look like anyone but ourselves?

Could it be possible that the very thing which you so despise about yourself is that very thing which God wildly adores about you? Because HE created you that way? 

You are fearfully & wonderfully made. You are unique. You are beautiful. You are God's lovingly created masterpiece: His artwork, His sculpture, His poem, His song.

Never forget that you bear the signature of the Divine.

'For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully & wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.' ~ Psalm 139:13-16, NIV

God's Masterpiece

When you hear the word

Masterpiece.....

....what do you think of?

Do you think of a portrait painted by a renowned artist?

Starry Night, by Vincent VanGogh

A famous statue chiseled by a well-known sculptor?

The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin

Or how about an incredible piece of music created by a celebrated composer?

The Hallelujah Chorus, by George Frideric Handel

This past Sunday, our pastor preached a sermon about who God wants us to be and how He sees us.  He referenced Ephesians 2:10:

'For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'

As someone who has spent WAY too much time over the years comparing myself to other people and my circumstances to theirs, and has come up wanting each time, I'd like to share  a bit of what I took away from my pastor's sermon. I know there's someone out there in the blogosphere besides myself who needs to be reminded of these truths -- or perhaps needs to hear them and learn them for the very first time. 

When we don't accept who we are, or what we have, or our situation, we become depressed, dissatisfied, discontent.   But really -- who are we?

We are God's workmanship.  Some Bible translations say 'God's creation' or 'God's handiwork.' But the New Living Translation says it this way: 'We are God's masterpiece.' 

The word 'workmanship' in our English language is translated 'poemia' in Greek, which is where we get the word 'poem.'   So literally speaking, we are God's poem, a poetic statement, written by God.  

Think about that in regards to yourself.  Get up from the computer, go find a mirror and take a look at yourself as you think, no....as you say aloud: "I am God's masterpiece; a poem, written by Him."  Let that truth sink in for a few moments.

You are a unique individual, created by the Lord God; special, set apart for Him.  You were created in the image of God (check out Genesis 1:27).  He took time to form you, to knit you like a beautiful piece of tapestry, in your mother's womb.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth." ~ Psalm 139: 13-15, NIV

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born, I separated and set you apart, consecrating you;" ~ Jeremiah 1:5, AMP

God knew exactly how He wanted you to look:


*your height


*your skin, eye and hair color


*your birthmarks, beauty marks, freckles


*the shape of your face, nose, lips, eyes and ears




God knew exactly how He wanted you to sound:


*the tone of your speaking voice


*the timbre of your singing voice


*the lilt of your laughter

Listen -- stop trying to be somebody else.  Somebody you aren't.  Because you CAN NEVER BE who you're supposed to be if you waste your time and your life trying to be someone God didn't create you to be.  

God created you to be you.  

He didn't create you to preach like Billy Graham or Francis Chan or Tony Evans.

He didn't create you to write like Max Lucado or Neta Jackson or Priscilla Shirer.

He didn't create you to hit high notes like Mariah Carey or play the guitar like B.B. King or dance like Gene Kelly.

God created YOU to be YOU!

Are you getting the picture now? No pun intended.  But seriously, please don't look at yourself and merely see someone who is unattractive or who doesn't measure up with the perfect, popular crowd.  Don't keep reminding yourself of the poor choices you made ten years ago, or the mistakes you made yesterday.  Please STOP right now.  Because this is not -- repeat, IS NOT -- how God sees you when He looks at you.  

You are a beautiful tapestry, woven and spun by the Master Weaver -- carefully, intentionally.

You are a magnificent vessel, formed by The Potter's hands -- lovingly, tenderly.

You are a glorious poetic symphony, created by the Consummate Composer, sung by the Sacred Psalmist -- joyfully, passionately.

YOU are a masterpiece.

God's Masterpiece!

True Value

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~ Luke 12:7

True Value

No, I’m not referring to the hardware store chain. I’m talking about the worth of something…or of someone. Let’s say, for example, you come across what looks to be an old diamond brooch, hidden away in your family’s attic; a brooch you learn once belonged to your great-great-great grandmother. What would you do to find the true value of the piece? Would you ask your neighbor or your professor or your boss to assess it? Not unless that was their field of expertise. No, you’d take it to an authority on antique jewelry instead, someone who is knowledgeable about what to look for in order to find the piece’s true value. Same as if you found yourself the owner of a really old baseball card or comic book in mint condition. You wouldn’t take the word of just ANYBODY as to whether or not you had in your possession something of extreme worth. Again, you’d go straight to the expert to find the card’s or the comic book’s true value.

So how about us? To whom do we go and where do we look to find our true value? It seems to me that too many times, we go to the wrong people and look in the wrong places to find our worth. On the Forbes’ website, you can find lists of ‘ The World’s Richest Americans’ and ‘The World’s Top 20 Billionaires.’ Carlos Slim Helu` (chairman and CEO of Telmex) comes in at number one with a whopping $75 billion dollar net worth, making him the richest person on the planet, with Microsoft’s Bill Gates coming in at Number 2 with a cool $56 billion dollar net worth. Wow! Airbrushed supermodels grace the front covers and pages of magazines and parade before us on TV. We look at them and then at ourselves and wonder where we went wrong. We compare ourselves to other people, a damaging and deadly practice. I should know (and believe me, I’m NOT bragging) because I’ve been doing that for years. And each time, I come away feeling gravely disappointed with myself, worthless, with little or no esteem, ready to throw in the towel and call it quits.

All my life, I’ve looked to other people to validate me. I’ve become involved with or said and done things in the hope of gaining the attention, acknowledgment, accolades and approval of others, that I might be found to have great worth and value in the world’s eyes. But I come up short each time, feeling rejected, discarded, forgotten, worthless. Why? Because these people were not made to define me. They are not the experts on who I am and what I’m worth.

Recently, I submitted my blog to a Christian blog directory in the hopes that I would get more people to read it (completely forgetting that my reason for having this blog in the first place was to be obedient to the LORD and write only because of Him and when He inspires me). Well, after reviewing my blog, the powers-that-be emailed me and told me they’d rejected it for several reasons (which I found to be somewhat lame and didn‘t altogether understand). But the reason that hit me hardest was that the blog content had 'no true value' (their words). Ouch! The sting of rejection hurts and for a short while, boy, I was hurt. And angry. After all, my topics are very personal, coming from deep inside my soul. So naturally, I took it personally, latching onto their ‘no true value’ phrase and transferring onto myself. If my blog stories had no true value, then it stands to reason that I must have no true value, right? WRONG! Why? Because again, these people are not the experts on me. They don’t know me. They cannot and should not be able to define and validate me. And shame on me for once again allowing somebody to do so. There is only One to Whom I’m to look for my worth, for my true value in this life and that is the LORD, Jesus Christ and Him alone. He is indeed The Expert and Authority. No one else knows me, inside and out, like He does.

While I may be a difficult work in progress, a diamond in the rough, the LORD looks at me and sees something beautiful already, even if I don’t, even if no one else does. He knows what I’m worth as His treasured possession and His Word assures me that:
　
I am His Masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)
I’m the apple of His eye (Psalm17:8)
I’m hidden and held safely in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8)
He’s enthralled with my beauty (Psalm 45:11)
He knows me and calls me by name because I belong to Him (Isaiah 43:1)
My name is engraved (not just written…ENGRAVED!) on the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16)
He takes great delight in me and rejoices over me in singing! (Zephaniah 3:17)
He holds me in His hand and never lets go (John 10:28)
He loves me…so much that He willingly took on the brunt of God’s wrath against sin and sinners and gave His life for me…. and won’t allow me to be separated from His love (John 15:12-13; Romans 8:38-39)

Wow. It doesn’t get any better than this, does it? I may not be worth billions of dollars. To some, what I’m worth may only tally up to double digits on a good day. But to the LORD, I’m priceless!

So how about you? Will you join me in being determined to ditch what this world has to say about your worth and instead, let the LORD Jesus be the Expert Who appraises you and shows you what your true value is…in Him? Be encouraged!
　
The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much
You're beautiful You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful ~ Beautiful, by Mercy Me