It Was Good

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:26, 31

 

I have the blessing of being part of a protestant tradition steeped in theology of people like John Calvin and Martin Luther.  A theology that keeps us grounded, and reminds us that we are broken people, who at our core are imperfect sinners, who fall short and needs God’s grace.  It’s wonderful humbling theology that keeps our pride and egos in check, but if we are so steeped in it, it makes us near sighted?

 

In the beginning of scripture God creates people in His image; there are pieces of God’s image woven throughout your being and body.  The Hebrew word here is to talk about how God made you, it is a word that describes the image you see in the mirror.  It’s a little fuzzy, not exact, but pretty darn close.  And when God finished creating, He called it very good, not a good effort, or a nice try, but He called it all very good.

 

If we are not careful, our humble theology can become so narrowly focused on what we are not, that we forget about the greatness of the one who made us.  We can forget that a good, perfect, all-powerful God created us in His image.  We can forget that we are created to bring glory to our Creator in all that we do, not just through humble talk about all that we are not.  We can focus so much on all our flaws and humility that we forget our role of reflecting the image of God that should shine through us each and everyday.  Don’t forget that we approach each day humbly, knowing we are imperfect people in need of grace from a perfect God; but don’t forget that same God says in scripture that you were fearfully, wonderfully made in His image, to bring Him glory, and reflect Him to the all you meet.  Don’t forget that when you look in the mirror and can’t help but to see your imperfections that God created you and then said, it was very good.

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions

  1. What do you think it looks like to balance humility, but thanksgiving for being made in God’s image?  In life? At work? In church?
  2. Why do you think that we tend towards extremes e.g. Don’t feel too good about ourselves, be more humble, or focused so much on self-esteem it’s prideful?