Women's Devotional: For Women, by Womenنموونە

God’s Image Bearers

Imagine the scene. Holding her hair back with one hand, the woman kneels and leans forward to drink from the clear pool of water. As her cupped hand reaches for the clear liquid, she draws back, startled. Who is the long-haired stranger staring back at her?

Perhaps even since the time Eve first caught sight of her reflection in the Garden of Eden, women have dealt with the question of image. Polls consistently reveal that the majority of us are dissatisfied with our appearance. Confronted with a barrage of airbrushed photos of supermodels and celebrities adorning magazine covers, the average woman thinks she is too short, too fat, too unattractive, too imperfect. How can we ever measure up with the media’s standards of perfection?

The first chapter of the Bible supplies the answer. We were created in the image of one paradigm of perfection: our Creator. Our height, weight, and skin color may indicate our human origins, but our soul and spirit reflect our Sovereign God.

When a child is born, it’s not unusual for someone to claim she’s the very “image” of a relative. But what does it mean to be created in the image of our heavenly Father? An image is a likeness or resemblance—a reflection as seen in a mirror. Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). As we grow in faith, we who believe are gradually “being transformed into [Christ’s] image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we become like Jesus, we begin to look more and more like our heavenly Father.

God created us to convey the distinctive imprint of his divine nature to a world often blinded to his existence. Even our differences reflect the One who delighted in creating a world of dazzling diversity: peculiar penguins and majestic eagles; towering redwoods and dwarf pines; blondes, brunettes and redheads … every person created with the individual imprint of the Creator’s hand to bear his image. So the next time you pass by a mirror, pause a moment to gaze in wonder at the designer original whom God loves so dearly—you!

Reflection

• How do you see God’s image reflected in the lives of others you admire?
• What factors from the past have damaged your sense of self-worth?
• Think of three ways in which you can beautifully reflect the characteristics of your Creator by imitating Christ.