The opening words of Genesis 5 are some of the most crucial words to understand the entire story of the Bible: “When God created man, He created him in the image of God.” These words reveal the reason and purpose for which we walk this earth. We are not accidents who have a meaningless existence. We were created by God in order to be like Him. In short, our lives are to accurately reflect the One who created us. We are created to do what He does. To love as He loves. To serve as He serves. To have life as He is the fountain of life itself (John 10:10). Genesis 1 reveals God’s character through His handiwork: GOOD. Everything God is, says, and does, is always and only good. His goodness is to be reflected in the way we live all the time. Acts 10:38 describes Jesus’ ministry as, “[Jesus] went about doing good...” He reflected the heart, purpose, and character of the Father by doing good—by being like the Father.
Reflect for a moment on Leviticus 11:45 which says: “Be holy for I am holy.”
We were not created for wickedness, sin, evil, or death. We were created to be like Him. This opening verse leads us into the story of Noah and the Ark. This story tells us that “every inclination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil all the time,” with the exception of Noah. So God put an end to all life, save Noah and his family. This is not a vindictive God, but one who sees that His creations are nothing of what He meant for them to be. They were evil and not good. As with all sin, judgment came, yet salvation was present at the same time in the Ark. As we see in Noah’s story, God was making a new creation. Our lives are nothing different. We are sinful people and as Romans 3:23 says, we “fall short” of God. We are not being like Him because of sin, yet salvation in Jesus Christ is present. Sin’s judgment has already fallen upon Jesus when He died on the Cross, and God sent us His Word so that we become a “new creation” that is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator,” (Colossians 3:10). In Jesus Christ, God has made it possible for us to live out the potential with which He created us—to be like Him!
Pastor Kyle
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