The Image of God (Genesis 1:27)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
—Genesis 1:27

Oh, there is so much beauty in this one verse at the beginning of the Bible that defines who we are as men and women made in the image of God. So let’s think about that phrase: made in the image of God. Unlike anything else in all creation—just think about God’s beauty in canyons and rivers and oceans and stars and mountains and valleys and deserts and animals and plants—there are so many beautiful pictures of God’s glory in creation. But there is nothing else like you and me, created with the mental, emotional, and relational faculties to know God, to talk with God, to hear from God, and to walk with God.

Genesis 1:27 reminds us that we were made for a relationship with God.

You are made for a relationship with God himself, unlike anything else in all creation. That alone defines you with such dignity, honor, beauty, and glory. You are made to know God, to talk with God, to listen to God, to walk with God, and to enjoy God. So I encourage you today: live for what you were made for. Live knowing God today—made possible through Jesus and what he did on the cross for us—and live walking with God today, which is possible because, for all who trust in Jesus, he puts his Spirit inside of us.

Talk with God today, all day long. Pray continually—not because you are supposed to, or have to, or because it is time to, but because you are in a relationship with God. Read his Word today and soak it in—not like you are checking off a box, but like you are reflecting on the words of the one you know and love.

Oh, enjoy and walk with God as a man or woman made in his image. And at this point, I grieve over how—at least in the culture where I live—there is such confusion and denial of the beauty of this verse, that God has made us male and female. There is an adversary wreaking havoc by causing people—tempting people—not to trust God in the way he has made us, to deny the goodness of God in the way he has made us.

Genesis 1:27 reminds us of the reality of being created as male or female.

I want to encourage you to trust the way God has made you as male or female, to see the beauty God has designed for you in the way he made you, and to not give in to the temptations of this world to distrust the God who loves you, who made you, who designed you fearfully and wonderfully in his image for life with him.

Oh God, we praise you for making us this way—for making us with the capacity to know you, to talk with you right now, to be led by your Spirit, and to walk with you in relationship. God, we pray that you would help us live this out to the full. Please keep us from ignoring you or turning our relationship with you into mechanical transactions—praying before meals without thinking about who we are talking to, or reading the Bible simply to check a box.

God, may it not be so. Help us experience the wonder of walking with you, worshiping you, enjoying you, and exalting you as men and women made in your image. And God, we pray that you would help us trust who you have made us to be and encourage others in who you have made them to be—as dignified men and beautiful women created in your image. Forgive us, God, for how so many cultures, including my own, are turning aside from your Word, which is so clear about how you made us and who you made us to be.

Prayer for the Turi People

God, we also pray for people today who are separated from a relationship with you and have never heard about Jesus and how they can be reconciled to you. We pray specifically for the Turi people of Bangladesh and India. God, we ask that this Hindu people group would be reached with the good news of your love for them and your desire to restore them to a relationship with you through Jesus. Knowing that every Turi man, woman, boy, and girl has been made in your image, we pray that they would be redeemed by your Son, in India and in Bangladesh. May it be so.

We pray all these things according to your Word in Genesis 1:27, in the name of Jesus. Amen.