Man: God's Image BearerSample

Life Giver

If you are an image bearer who has been adopted into God’s family, you are a brand new creature. Although your regeneration was instant, your transformation into the image of Jesus, God’s ultimate image bearer, will take a while.

If you make a sincere effort to learn and grow and obey, you will experience an ever-increasing level of intimacy with your Heavenly Father. You will begin not only to reflect Him in existence and function, but imitate Him by the power of the Holy Spirit inside you. Not only will you act how He acts, loving others by extending His mercy and grace at every turn, but you will also begin to want what He wants

God’s glory will become of utmost importance to you, and you will want to see image bearers who do not yet know God as Father come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they, too, can glorify Him as His adopted children. To this end, every interaction with people will become an opportunity to minister God’s love to them in the form of mercy and grace. This with the hope that they will recognize the supernatural power at work in you not only as the Creator that formed them, but also as the Savior who is also willing and able to rescue them.

• Does your interaction with others demonstrate a transformed heart?
• Do your attitude, actions, and reactions to people and situations you face convince those around you of a supernatural power at work within you?
• Do you take your responsibility as God’s image bearer and child seriously?
• Are you glorifying God?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, John 14:20-21, 23, and Philippians 2:13-15.