Think of yourself at the moment God created you. Imagine yourself in Genesis when God created the world and everything he created was good. You’re part of God’s creation. You were part of his plan. You’re in his plan.
God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
….God looked at everything he had made,
and found it very good (Genesis 1:27, 31).
What a statement! God Almighty created us in his image and he found it good, he was pleased with it. When we think about that passage, why do so many of us disagree with the amazing message? We put ourselves down, seeing more wrong in ourselves than right.
Throughout any given day, even this day, the things we do right tend to blend into the woodwork. We focus on what we did wrong. We beat ourselves up, and somehow in the process we convince ourselves God is disappointed in us. We see ourselves through our own filter—not God’s. While we think he sees us through a dark glass and condemnation, he sees us only through the eyes of love.
Remember how unique each of us is. God threw away the mold when he created us. There is something unique about you that you bring to each day. Your uniqueness can affect the people around you in a positive way, and is, in essence, your journey to salvation. The key to experiencing that is to picture yourself as God sees you.
What aspects of us did he create that in turn signify the purpose in our lives? What talents and skills do we have? In short, how can each of us gain clarity about our uniqueness in God’s eyes?
God understands we’re human and that to be human is to fail. When we realize our gifts and understand their infinite value, we’ll first and always recognize that, amid failure, we must challenge ourselves to stand up.
We must understand we can do nothing to earn God’s love. God loves us for who we are, not what we do. It’s not our success as human beings that satisfies God. It’s contributing those gifts to activities, drawing God’s glory into the experiences of everyday life.
The challenge for all of us is to see ourselves as servants in God’s eyes, as partners in God’s creation, rather than spending so much time focusing on what we do right or wrong. We need to focus on how we contribute our gifts in a communal way in order to exemplify the recognition of God’s glory in the lives of people around us.
O, Lord, please help me today to understand that I was created in your image and likeness. You infused talents and skills in me that draw me to serve you. The joy I bring to others through the skills and talents you give me are the tribute I give to you for being created. Come into my heart and mind today and clear away the desire of the things in this world that misdirect my efforts away from you and onto personal gratification. Thank you for this time together. Amen.
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