Tag Archive for image of God

Whose Child Are You?

A reflection on Revelation 12:1-6

Notice how God’s people are envisioned
in Revelation 12:1 (NASB):
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet and
a crown of twelve stars on her head.

To human eyes,
we all appear to be some similar mixture of
good and bad,
wisdom and ignorance,
love and selfishness,
beauty and ugliness.

But God sees much more.
The Eternal One is not locked into
the narrow now, and
He sees beneath our carefully crafted shell.
He already sees who we believers are becoming in
His holy Son,
Jesus.
He sees us in
the holiness,
the glory, and
the authority of the Living Christ.
He sees us through the eyes of a
proud and loving Father.
He sees Himself growing within us.

He also sees within unbelievers.
The Jews of Jesus’ day were considered
the holiest people of their day.
But Jesus called them children of Satan.
He said their hearts and lives already reflected
the lying, murderous ways of
their father, the Devil.

Our identities are rooted in worlds
high above our knowing,
in beings
more holy or
more wicked than we can imagine.
To eternal, all-seeing eyes,
we are who we are following.
We are who we are trusting.
We are already more than
simple physical creatures of this earth.
We are in Jesus Christ, or
we are children of the Devil.
We are more glorious than we could ever dream,
or more evil.
There is no middle ground.

Choose your daily relationship with Jesus Christ
very thoughtfully,
very carefully and intentionally.
You are choosing your eternal character.
You are choosing your eternal destiny.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: All in Christ
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Life

John 20:30-31

All God’s creatures share His life.
It is a beautiful gift from our Creator.

But we people also share His image.
We share His likeness mentally, morally, and spiritually.
We are His offspring.
We live and move and have our being in Him.
We breathe His life in a fuller, deeper sense than other earthly creatures.

But with the freedom and power God gave us, we chose to turn away from Him.
We are still turning away.
We choose life without Him…which is not life at all, but death.

Listen.
God is speaking.
He is calling us to rediscover Him, to reconnect with Him.
He calls us to turn back to Him and begin to trust Him again.
As we do, He grows His life within us.
His own Son, Jesus Christ, joins His Spirit with our spirit.
He is God, but also human—
and what a beautiful human being He is!
He is all we could ever want to be, and more.
As we trust Him, He blossoms in us.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Discover Jesus Christ
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

One with Your Creator

imagefrom the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Ephesians 2

Remember who you were and what you were like
before God forgave you and began renewing you.
Remember the sudden change that happened in a moment.
Remember the gradual change that is still going on as you trust Him.
Remember how imperfect and inconsistent you still are.

Look ahead.
Imagine being one with your Creator.
The relationship He intended is complete and constant.
His power has done all its work.
His wisdom has had its way.
His love is satisfied and smiling.
You are one with Him.
The glory of the Living Christ is shining from every corner of your being,
with no shadows and
no hidden places.
You are one with Jesus Christ.
We are all one with Him.
His beautiful creation is complete.

Jesus Christ, the sovereign Word of God,
God’s will in action,
God’s agent in creation,
is recreating us into His own perfect image,
the image of our Creator Himself.
Our future is in Him.
Our destiny is in Him.

I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6, NASB)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: New in Christ
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics