And yet, and yet…

Pictured above is a self-portrait my daughter made. I love the art, because my girl was challenged to take those thoughts and emotions that she has about her own identity and create something. She imagined, and it became an image.

Volumes have been written on what it means to be created in the Image of God (or the Imago Dei as it appears in Latin). Theories range from the aspect of work to the need for rest to physical visage to even opposable thumbs. OK, I made that last one up, but I bet you believed it…lol.

But when I consider what it means to be made in the image of God, I likewise call up the words of Ephesians 2:10, that we are God’s handiwork (poema in Greek), his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that He intended beforehand. It’s amazing to me that when Scripture talks about our identity in God, it is through expression.

When I think about man being created in God’s Image, my thoughts turn to creativity. It is unique to us to speak and paint and write things that previously were not into existence.

Think about it the nature of speech. Speech literally takes a desire that is in one person’s mind and somehow transmits it to exist in the other person’s mind. But there is no transaction, no physical impact. Only words spoken from the nothing of our minds to become something in another. And that something can become a driving force of their life, a word that changes everything.

What about writing and poetry? As I write this, there is no script I transcribe from. These are ideas that I am applying language to, taking a thought in my mind and giving it to you. You won’t eat these words (or you shouldn’t), and yet these words, these shapes of light on a screen create an impression in you.

What about singing? What about painting? What about sculpting? What about storytelling? What about sign language?

All of this takes nothing and creates something in the world.

Being created in the Image of God entitles us to be loved, but it also electrifies us for purpose. Your existence, your thoughts, your memories matter. You have the privilege, the joy, of creating alongside Jesus. As He built you in the inmost parts you also get the joy to take that which is not and to make something that is. And as we create to the glory of God, we fulfill those purposes.

So friend as you read this, you may feel like your contribution is small. You may feel that purpose eludes you. Do you know that God still creates through you today? We are given fragile, moral bodies; and yet God has placed eternity in our hearts…we cannot fathom what He has done from beginning to end. You, as you were created and beloved of God, are His poetry to the world. You are the expression of His mind and His heart. And those expressions make eternal impact.

Imagine that.