Searching For SignificanceSample

The Search

God’s Perfect Design

God spent six days creating the world, and as his final act, he created human beings — in his image. 

It’s easy to pass over that as you read. And if you’ve been a follower of Christ for a long time, you’ve heard it over and over again. 

But take a moment to let that sink in. You and I — we’re made in the image of God. 

Maybe you struggle with understanding what that means. J.I. Packer sums it up well when he says:

Image means representative likeness — which tells us at once that we should be reflecting, at our creaturely level, what Genesis 1 shows God is and does. Therefore we should always act with resourceful rationality and wise love, making and executing praiseworthy plans just as God did in creation. He generated value by producing what was truly good; so should we. We should be showing love and goodwill toward all other persons, as God did when he blessed Adam and Eve (1:28). And in fellowship with God, we should directly honor and obey him by the way we manage and care for that bit of the created order that he gives us to look after, according to his dominion mandate (26, 28). 

We are a visible representation of him, and we are meant to live that out. Yes, sin got in the way and marred that likeness, but the foundation of our existence is still there. We are living representations of God himself! Because of that, we have this innate desire to be fully restored to our perfect selves. 

We experience that desire daily in this internal struggle to matter. It’s part of who we are, because God created us to want so much more than this current life can give. 

That’s why we search for significance. Even though part of us is broken, we search, often looking in all the wrong places. Instead we need to find our significance in God. In him we’ll find all the answers we’ll ever need.

Points to Ponder:

• In your search for purpose, what traps do you fall into? Where do you find yourself looking for significance and worth, rather than looking to God himself?
• What does it mean to you to be made in God’s image? How does that impact the way you live?