“…And the Lord God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7)

What does it mean to be made in the image of God?

We talked about the messages that you hear from the world. We know that the world tells us a number of negative messages, such as “you are not good enough unless you look like this,” or “you will not be happy unless you get this thing,” or “you will not be secure without this.” Sometimes we hear things that others tell us, that make us feel worthless, insecure, or not good enough. But what I want to tell you is that being made in God’s image means you have value for who you are.

I was looking at a picture of my daughter the other day, and thinking about how she is the image of her mother and me.  She has many of her mother's facial features, with some aspects of my height.  Because she is an image of us, we were instantly filled with an overwhelming sense of love when she was born.  This is a type of love that says, "She is my daughter, and nothing is going to change that."  It is a type of love that will be there, no matter what she does in her life.

It's a small reflection of the love God has for us.

Back when Genesis was written, it was not the only story about how people were made. Other countries had such stories, but they did not all have the sense of dignity that this one does. Do any of you know these stories? In one particular story from Babylon, the gods are fighting each other, backstabbing each other, and even sleeping around with each other. Out of one particular instance of such behavior, humans were born, according to this story. The gods were then all saying, “oops, what just happened?”

Now, compare this to what Genesis says about God’s creation. Look at 2:7, and think about the imagery there. In the earlier passage, God just speaks, and things come into existence. But here, we have an even more intimate portrait. God reaches down into the dirt with His hands. He takes the dirt out of the ground and forms it into the shape of a person. Then, in probably the most remarkable act of all, He breathes into the human’s nostrils. If you envision it, it’s just like an embrace!

This is the difference between this God and all the other god stories: He made his people on purpose, and even in an embrace.

This is also the difference between what God says about you and what the world says about you. The world says you are not good enough, not pretty enough, not cool enough, not complete or secure enough. God says, you were made in My image. You are more than just everything else I create; you have more value to Me than the things I create.

I want to get close enough to you that we may embrace.

So if any of you watch the commercials, wishing you could be someone else, thinking, “I’m not as pretty as she is,” or “I’ll never be as successful as he is,” this can be your opportunity to break free from that. As a human being, God looks down on you, lovingly, as one of His own. This is what being made in the image of God is all about. He wants you to embrace Him, to hear His message of how important you are to Him.

God does not expect you to change who you are to come to Him. He doesn’t even say you have to “get your act together” before you come to Him. Just come to Him as you are. He longs to be this near to you each and every day, to surround you with His presence, to give you strength and encouragement, rather than insecurity and loneliness. He wants to fill your mind with His messages, rather than the world’s.

You are made in the image of God.