How Do Our Lives Reflect the Image of God?

Old ways don’t lead to new roads. If we want to see different results in our lives, I believe we need to reimagine ourselves in the way God sees us. Scripture informs us that the Lord created us as His image bearers. Like the moon reflects the sun, we reflect the God we serve and follow.

As 21st Century believers how do we reflect the image of the Lord in our daily lives?

Genesis 1:24-31 (ESV)

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own 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 have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

We mirror God when we bring order where there is chaos. We don’t add to the chaos. We serve as peacemakers. Our role is helping to calm the storm, not stirring the pot. In our turbulent times, amid the divisive discourse, hidden behind the curtain of social media, it is easy for us to get caught up in the seemingly endless controversies that grab our attention. We quieten the chaos by remembering the facts and sharing the truth. God is for us not against us. He loves all of us and seeks a deep, personal, one-on-one relationship with Him.

Our lives reflect the Lord when we shine light into the darkness. We bring hope where there is no hope. We walk with people as they suffer and we shower those around us with love. We strive to walk in light and love, always. We have all met people who beam love from the heart of their being. They ooze God’s love from every pour. We feel good in their presence. They make us feel safe. We know they are people we can trust. As people of love, we seek to treat others as we would want them to treat us. When we do that, God is glorified and magnified through our daily walk with Him as our guide.

As image bearers of God Most High, we speak life in all situations. What does it mean to speak life? It means our words encourage; they don’t hurt. Words are like bullets. Once our mouth fires them off, there is no putting them back into their chamber. We use our words to lift and heal others. We don’t wound or discourage people with our speech. Our words match our deeds. Both reflect the God we serve and the Lord we love. 

As I take a personal inventory of how I live my daily life, I am faced with answering these 3 questions:

1.  Is my life today marked by order or is my life one that creates chaos?

2.  Do I shine light into the lives of others and deliver hope into the darkness?

3.  Do my words lift and encourage others or do I wound and discourage people with my tongue?

When you ask yourselves these questions, what answers do you come up with? 

As we seek to know God and to make God known, I pray that our lives would reflect the image of the Lord and that through our words and deeds we would mirror the God who created us.

Peace be with you.

The Devotional Guy