“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). John is not espousing some new Christian idea here. When mankind is first introduced in Genesis 1, they are introduced as God’s children. When the writer of Genesis talks about man being made in God’s image (1:26-27) he is denoting a direct progenitor, what in scientific terms we would see as the transmission of our DNA through reproduction. This is clear from Genesis 5:3 where it says of Adam’s relationship to his son, Seth, “He had a son in his own likeness, in his own image”. The writer expresses the familial relationship like this to make an important theological point, not only about human identity, but also our role. We are the representatives of God in the world, to each other and to the rest of creation. Ancient Near Eastern kings used to set up images of themselves in conquered territories to stake their claim in those areas. The images were symbols of the king’s authority. So, when people rebelled against that king, the first thing they would do was to deface the image. God’s image in mankind has been defaced. Do you feel defaced? Christ came to restore you and he is, by his Spirit, restoring the DNA of God’s character in you again. Don’t live like an animal. You are a human being with a high purpose. Step up into your relationship with God, enjoy life with him and, in this way, you will radiate his glory. Your joy in God will be a light to the world.
Give thanks to God for his love and the world he has created for us to enjoy. How can you live for your higher purpose as God’s child today?
Read Genesis 1:20-27, Psalm 8 and 2 Peter 1:3
