God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him, male and female. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase; fill the earth and subdue it.” Genesis 1:26–28

In the story of creation we read that God created male and female in his own image. He blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful and to care for the earth. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Many dismiss the story of creation as a myth, but I have reverence for the word of the Bible as it stands. As Peter says, “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Pet. 3:8).

How human beings were created is a mystery. Rather than dismiss the creation story because we do not understand it, we need to find its inner meaning. Today reverence for God’s plan has been almost completely lost. We do not treasure the fact that both man and woman were formed in the image of God. This sets us apart from the rest of creation and makes each human life sacred.

What does being created “in God’s image” mean? It means we are a living picture of who God is. It means that we belong to him, and should further his work of creating and nurturing life. We should always remain close to God. The moment we separate ourselves from him, we lose sight of our purpose here on earth.

In Genesis we read that we have the living spirit of God: “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). In giving us his spirit, God gave us the ability to think and act, and to do so in love.

Creation or Evolution?

Even if we possess this living spirit, we remain only images of the creator. When we look at creation in a God-centered and not human-centered way, we will understand God’s plan. The person who denies that he was made in the image of God will completely lose his bearings.

What would we be if God had not breathed his breath into us? Darwin’s theory of evolution, by itself, is dangerous because it is not God-centered. Something inside each of us cries out against the idea that we were hatched by a purposeless universe. Deep within the human spirit is a thirst for what is lasting and imperishable.

Since we are made in God’s image, we will not vanish like smoke at the end of our lives. God has set eternity into our hearts, and deep within each of us is a longing for God. If we deny this and live only for the present, everything that happens to us will bring great confusion. This is especially true in the sexual area. Casual sex desecrates the soul’s yearning for what is eternal. No person by himself can ever fill the longing of our souls.

The voice of eternity speaks most directly to our conscience, which is the deepest element within us. It warns, rouses, and commands us in our God-given task. Every time the soul is wounded, our conscience makes us painfully aware of it. We will be guided if we listen to it. When we are separated from God, our conscience will waver and go astray. This is true for an individual, and for a marriage.

The Importance of Marriage

In Genesis, chapter 2, we read about the importance of marriage. When God created Adam, he saw that it was not good for man to be alone. So he created woman to be a helpmate and partner to man. This is a mystery: man and woman – the masculine and the feminine – belong together as a picture of who God is, and both can be found in him.

It is a tragedy in today’s society that the differences between man and woman are blurred and distorted. The image of God is being destroyed. There is endless talk about women’s equality, but actually women are abused and exploited more than ever before. Everywhere the ideal woman (and increasingly, the ideal man) is portrayed as a mere sex object.

Marriages are no longer regarded as sacred. They are seen as experiments between two people who measure everything in terms of their own interests. When marriages fail, there is the option of no-fault divorce, and after that a new attempt at marriage with a new partner. Many people no longer even bother to make promises of faithfulness; they just live together. Women who bear and raise children or stay married to the same husband are scorned. Even when their marriages are healthy ones, they are often seen as victims of oppression who need to be “rescued” from male domination. Women are being degraded since same-sex marriages have become law. Such marriages are stealing them of their God-given role and rob children of security and identity.

Too Busy?

Children are no longer treasured. In Genesis, God commanded, “Be fruitful and increase.” Today we avoid the burden of unwanted offspring by means of contraception and by legalized abortion. Children are viewed as a bother: they are too expensive to be brought into the world, to be raised, and given a college education. They are an economic strain on our materialistic lives. They are even too time-consuming to love.

Is it any wonder that so many people have lost hope, and have given up on the possibility of enduring love? Life has lost its value. It has become cheap, and people no longer see it as a gift from God. Advances in biomedical engineering and in fetal screening enable couples to choose an abortion for selfish reasons – even to choose the gender of their child, or to reduce a twin pregnancy to a single baby. Without God, life is absurd, and there is only darkness and the deep wound of separation from him.

Churches have failed miserably in addressing this situation. We must ask ourselves, “Why did God create man and woman in the first place?” God has set a specific task for every man, woman, and child on this earth, a task he expects us to fulfill. No one can disregard his purpose for creation or for himself without suffering deep inner need.

How Do We Go On?

The materialism of our time has emptied life of moral and spiritual purpose. It hinders us from seeing the world with awe and wonder. The sickness of soul and spirit brought about by consumerism has destroyed our conscience so that it is no longer able to mirror good and evil clearly. Yet deep down each of us still yearns for wholeness and goodness.

We will find healing only if we believe that God created us and that he is the giver of life, love, and mercy. As we read in the Gospel of John, God sent his son not to condemn the world, but to save it.

Jesus is the perfect image of God, and he brings us life, joy, and fulfillment. Only when our lives are lived in him can we experience his truth and goodness, and only in him can we find our true destiny: to live in his spirit, which is the creative, life-giving spirit of love.

 

---

Your Turn. Tell us what you thought about this article:

Responses

You're a real deep thinker. Thanks for sharing.

Lissa