Made in God's Imageনমুনা

We were made in the image of God...this is good!

Whenever anyone turns up at a new club, they will either directly or indirectly be asked the question, “Who are you?”

• Are they any good at the role they’ve been brought in to do?
• Will they be a good teammate?
• What are they like off the field?

The first question can be answered in some part statistically, but the other two questions are harder to answer until you really know someone.

Ultimately the question of “Who are you?” is one of the most fundamental and important questions we all need to answer. And God, right at the beginning of the Bible, gives us an answer.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

We will unpack these verses and their implications over the next few weeks, but first, let’s start a bit further on in Genesis.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

The first thing to note is that it is a wonderful privilege to be human – of all God’s creation, only humans are made in his image.

At its most basic level, to be made in the image of God means we are deliberately made like God in some way.

In the weeks to come, we’ll see that this means we have been made to play, to represent, to work, to love, and to rest. We’ll see how being made in God’s image profoundly shapes what it means to play our sport in a way that honours God.

Firstly, though, we can see that being made in God’s image is a good thing for two main reasons:

1. The fact we are made in the “image of God” reminds us that we are like God but not God. We are made in his “image…[his] likeness,” but despite what we so often think, we are not the centre of the universe.
2. However, the fact that we are “of God” is a real privilege, one only afforded to humans.

SO WHAT?

There is no place for either pity or pride. In sports, we can yo-yo between feeling worthy of our place in our team or feeling like a fraud. We constantly question how we are performing and what our future path in sports may look like.

The fact we are made in the image of God helps keep our understanding of our value and self-worth on an even keel. It is a balance to tread, not to make too much or too little of ourselves, and not to allow our sporting performance to affect our base identity as those made in the likeness of God.

Our base identity is something we are given, not something we earn. Adam and Eve were created; they did not create themselves. They were declared “very good” before they began doing anything! What a contrast to how we view ourselves and others in our sport.

You know how it so often works, don’t you? Until someone really starts to perform and earn their place in the squad, they remain on the fringes, socially on the edge of the team's core. Instead, the fact that all humans – those who trust in Jesus and those who don’t – are made in God’s image gives all people real dignity and worth and value, irrespective of their performance. Will we treat people like that today in our sport? Will we treat ourselves like that even if we don’t perform in the way we would like?

CS Lewis in The Weight of Glory summed it up perfectly:

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

God created all humans, and he says, “It is very good.” Remind yourself of that today in the ups and downs of your sport and in the relationships you have.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for making humans and for making us in your image and likeness – what a privilege this is.

Please help us today to remember this – to personally know the wonder of being made in the image of God and to also treat others with the dignity and respect they deserve as fellow imager-bearers.

Help us to know this in our sport today,

Amen.