Image Bearers

Our worth is connected to our Creator. If God is of great and inestimable worth, then human beings made in his image must be of great value, too.

There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal. - C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory

The Bible describes us as being made in the image of God or as God's image bearers. Basically, what this means is that we reflect something of God's nature and character to the rest of creation. When we put ourselves down we are choosing to refuse what God says about who we are. We often do this because we have been taught that is walking in humility however if we raise our opinions above His it is in fact pride. Without even realizing it we are putting more worth in what we think and denying what God says.  We dismiss the fact that we carry His character and nature because we are made in His image.

So what do we do when we feel discouraged, have made a mistake etc. First we recognize that those are feelings not facts. Our mistakes or perceived shortcomings do not change the facts of what God says in the Bible. Secondly we use the tools that God gives us to bring our emotions in line with His Word. Several things can be done when we face this battle.

We first pray, ask God to help us lean on Him and His truth. Second we can feed our spirit by worshipping Him. When we do this it elevates our eyes off ourselves and lifts them to Him. Thirdly we can use Scripture to combat the emotions we are struggling against. God created the heavens and the earth by speaking and when we speak His Holy Scriptures over our lives we again raise our eyes to Him.  We choose truth over feelings

Another way we tend to battle with being the image bearers that God has declared us to be is by putting down how we look. There is an enormous battle going on in this area. The enemy has long waged war against our acceptance of who we are. The world is always swift to criticize how we look, what we wear and anything that makes us believe we need to be something different. We see this battle being played out daily in our schools, the media and more. The enemy is raging against us and God’s image bearers by making people question their gender, their identity and sexuality. There is far more negativity in regards to these areas than positive. However God says,

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭

God perfectly designed you to be an image bearer the reflects Him. We each carry a reflection of His image and character so how can we then walk in rejection of the very thing He created?  This again is denying His word, it is valuing our opinions far above His. We sadly choose to believe the negative things that the world says about us instead of believing that a loving Father rejoices over us exactly as we are.  Psalm 139 goes on to say,

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God not only saw us and knew us before we were born He continues to think of us and delight in us.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.””

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God loves you and delights in you because you belong to Him. Whether you know Him as Father or not you were made to be His beloved child. You were made in His image and He delights in you.