Understanding that as God's creation, we are image bearers with inherent dignity and worth.
The reality that God is the Creator has another implication - and it is massive: Because God is our Creator, we are each image bearers. I am an image bearer. You are an image bearer.
In the Ancient Near East, coins would bear the image of the king who minted them. Wherever that currency was 'good' was as far as the kingdom extended.
We bear God's image and we show, as his vice-regents, that God's rule should cover the entire earth. Of course, we're rebellious in using our authority, and so we see environmental degradation instead of the flourishing that is intended for God's beautiful world.
There are so many other identities that are placed upon us.
Consumer. Citizen. Husband. Wife. Employee. Owner. Son. Daughter. Political labels.
When someone names you, it is a powerful act. If I gave each of you a nickname for this course, that would be inappropriate. You would feel that I was intruding upon your boundaries - and I would be. I won't do it!
But we allow all kinds of corporations and institutions and other people to label and identify us.
Again, that has its place. I'm not saying you don't need to love your spouse or honor your parents or anything.
But one of the fundamental names that we have been given is image bearer. Before we accomplish anything, we have identity. God has given us purpose, value, worth, and dignity.
This obliterates caste systems. It shows that classism is a lie. Sexism is wrong. Racism is forbidden.
The social structures of our day do not allow for equal experiences. It is impossible to provide that under any social structure. But one day God will make it so that we all know our equality as his image bearers.
This is fundamental to your identity. And it is a truth most powerfully known when you experience this truth in a relationship with your First Love.
For your Creator to lovingly and personally affirm that you are his image bearer is to gain a permanent, valuable identity.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Can you recall a time when someone affirmed your worth in a way that pointed you back to God's love for you? How did that experience impact you emotionally and spiritually?
The social structures and hierarchies of our world often obscure or undermine the truth that every person bears God's image equally. Where do you see this reality being denied or distorted in your own community?
If you were to hear God speak these truths directly to your heart, what do you think that would feel like? How might resting in that affirmation free you up to live differently?
This week, practice seeing every person you encounter as an image bearer of God—regardless of their status, appearance, or behavior.
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