Who Am I? - Gen 1: 26-31

For the last few weeks we have been exploring the relationships that we find ourselves in. Our relationship to God. Our relationship to each other as brothers and sisters. And our relationship in marriage. This week we will be exploring our interior relationship - how well we know ourselves and the words that God has spoken over us. 

Human beings are different from other creations of God. We have the ability to be creative. To love. To dislike. The ability to do things that nothing else on this earth can do. And yet, we haven’t even begin to tap into all that we can do and be because we do not understand who we are. We do not listen to the God who created us. We settle for what we feel comfortable doing, what comes easily to us, instead of what we are called to do.

In today’s scripture we are told that the Godhead decided to make humankind different, to make us in the image of God. Honestly, I think that statement scares many of us. We mis-interpurt it to mean that we are ourselves mini-gods, which is not what the scripture is saying. Instead, it is more like this - in Biblical times when a ruler had a vast area of land to watch over, too much land for one person to be in at any given time, they would put up images of themselves around the region they were not physically present at. It was a reminder that the ruler, even though he could not be seen, still had rule in the area. While we bear more then simply a picture of God, the idea is still the same. God created human beings to remind each other of God’s rule, even when we cannot physically see God. To be reminded that we do not rule ourselves, but are subject to the one who created us and whose image we bear. 

But bearing the image of God also goes beyond simply reminding others about God. We also have certain traits of God that aren’t seen in other creatures - the ability to be spiritual, to feel emotions, and to think creatively. However, these gifts are to be reflections of God, as we use them to be God’s ambassadors here on earth. To act on God’s behalf. We were created for God’s purposes, not our own. 

Even knowing all of this, the idea of being created in God’s image may still scare us. We may not like the idea of being called to represent God’s presence in the world. And let’s be honest, many times we have not reflected God accurately. A few weeks ago I was working at a festival in North Carolina where I heard the Christian author, Phillip Yancey speak. Yancey explained the complexities of representing God in the world through the following story. He lives in a small town in Colorado where not many people are able to hear live concerts. In fact one of the only places that live music can be heard is at the local high school orchestra concert. The problem is that the orchestra often tries to play pieces that are beyond their means. When they botch pieces by Mozart however, its not Mozart’s fault. Just as when we, as the church, bearing the image of the God who created us, fail to live up to God’s standards or reflect God in the world, it is not God’s fault. And yet, even when the high school orchestra botches a piece of beautiful music, it is still many people’s only exposure to that particular work. So it is with the church. We are God’s ambassadors in the world, reflecting the love and grace of God, even if we do it poorly at times. 

Creating us in the image of God gives us a lot of responsibility. For when we claim that we are God’s and we bear the resemblance of God for the sake of the Kingdom, we have work to do. We need to shine the light of God for people through all of our actions and words, not just when we are in certain situations or with certain people. 

Secondly, we are told in the scripture that we have been given dominion over all other created creatures on the earth. But we cannot grasp the magnitude of this task, or do it well, until we let the fact that we bear the image of God sink into our hearts. For if we try to have dominion over things without remembering that we represent God’s motives and heart, then we can quickly let our own ideas and purposes distract us from the task we have been given. We are not allowed to treat creation any way that we want to, rather we need to treat it as God wants us to treat it. We are to be God’s stewards over what we have been given. God gave us everything that we need to both survive and thrive, if only we tend to it as God intended. 

Thirdly, we are told that God claimed us to be good as creation. Good does not mean perfect. In fact, it does not even mean finished. It simply means that we have purpose. A God given purpose to fulfill. Think about good in terms of household items. When we say an item, a chair or a vacuum, is good we mean that it works. It functions well. Conversely when something isn’t good, it doesn’t do what we expect it to do. It fails at its function. We bear the word good being spoken over us. We have the ability to fulfill the purposes God created us for, to live into our calling. Yet, all too often we stumble and go our own way. Insisting that we do not need God or to follow God’s word or direction. That is sin. It is not who we were created to be. 

Brothers and sisters, we were intentionally created by God with a purpose. We need to realize that we are God’s idea, God’s creation. We belong to God, not to ourselves. And because we were created by God, that is where our identity lies. Our worth. Our value. Are you looking to God to speak over you and to remind you who you are? Or are you searching for that answer to come from other sources, other people?

Because you need to know whose you are to know who you are. And you need to know who you are in order to fully live into what God created you to do. For how can you be called Good by God if you are looking for that affirmation to come from other people? And how can you have dominion if you are doing what others want you to do instead of what God wants you to do? Because often they cannot co-exist. 

Have you ever met someone who is sure of who they are? Its actually a rarity in today’s world. Someone who knows who they are and are 100% comfortable in their own skin. Often we notice such people because they are different. In fact, something can seem off about them because of the security in their image that comes from knowing themselves on this deep level. These are the people in the world who take risks, because they know what they are called to do. These are the people who aren’t afraid of failure by the world’s standards, but rather are afraid about not reflecting the one who created them and gives them purpose. These are the people who don’t need to be busy for the sake of looking important, but the people who know what is truly important and work towards that. They get that they exist for a much greater purpose.

Brothers and sisters, have you let the fact that you are created by God sink into your heart? Do you know who you are as a creation of God and what you are called to do, or are you simply moving from one moment to the next, unsure of who you are and why you are here? Are you looking for God to speak over you or are you listening to others to define your worth and value? Are you serving man or God? Are you comfortable with who you are or do you simply crawl within your own skin with dis-ease? We were created for so much more. We were created for God and by God. May we live in such a way that we are ambassadors of God in this world, shining the light of glory for others. May we live in such a way that we embrace what it means to be created in the image of God, not for our own sake, but for the praise of our Creator. Amen.