In His Image
I know with my whole heart that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16). I know that when I am in need of divine intervention and to hear or understand the Will of God that there is no other place to turn but The Bible. Even when I think that there is a verse or a section of the Bible that can’t possibly have anything to say to me, God always, always uses unexpected verses to penetrate deep into my heart.
But, aren’t there times when there are some scriptures…some verses…that you want to kind of shake your head at and think, “Nah. God, this verse couldn’t possibly be true. You don’t understand what I’m dealing with/how I feel/what I’m trying to overcome/etc.”
Tell me I’m not the only one.
One of the ones that I so frequently have issues with is Genesis 1:27:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
On those days where my hair won’t lie the way it is supposed to…or my skin has broken out (seriously? Adult acne -or maybe too much caffeine- is a pain!)…or I’m feeling a bit bloated and frumpy…it’s really difficult to believe that I have been created in the image of God.
I look in the mirror and see all of the things that are “wrong” with me and think “there is no way that this this what the God of the universe is like.”
On the days that I yell at my children or get frustrated about the things that just don’t matter (basically I have zero patience and tolerance for anyone other than myself). Or the days that I feel overwhelmed and unimportant and alone…it’s really difficult to believe that I have been create in the image of God.
I stand in that same mirror and find fault after fault after fault and thing after thing after thing that I have done wrong or should have done different. And I think to myself, “This person? This mess of a woman that is me? There is no way that she is created in the image of God…”
But we are, friends.
As hard as that is to believe, we are.
It’s easy to think that the scripture doesn’t apply to us. That those things that were written so long ago aren’t relevant anymore. That they are just words in a book, just like anything else.
But the next time you feel like that, take a few minutes to examine yourself. Examine your heart and all of those GOOD things about you. As women, it’s easy to find the flaws and the negative. But, just for a minute, take a second to see all of the beautiful things in you. All of the unique things that make you who you are; and then go back and meditate on the verses of Psalm 139:14 (this entire chapter of Psalm is amazing if you have time to read it!):
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
