In His Image
By Tracy Smith
“So God
created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
Genesis
1:27 (NIV)
The
older my oldest son gets, the more he looks like my dad. At the same time, he
has certain facial expressions and mannerisms that are exactly like my husband.
My youngest son is left-handed, just like his paternal grandma and maternal
great-aunt. My nephew looks like and walks exactly like his dad. My niece is
the spitting image of my sister, who is the spitting image of my mom.
Genetics
has always fascinated me. I love looking at families and seeing who looks like
who and who has whose mannerisms, way of walking, etc. Beyond looks, there are
also personality traits that you will see reflected in family members. Kids
look up to and imitate their parents.
When
I am out in the world, do I look like and act like my Father? Genesis
1:27 says we are made in God’s image. Do I reflect who He is to those
around me? Do I make an effort to represent my Father well?
In order to do that, I need to dig into the Word
and see our Lord's character traits that I should be emulating:
- Do I show love or hatred? (Mark 12:31; Matthew 5:43-45)
- Do I show forgiveness or hold grudges? (Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 18:21-22)
- Do I show mercy or harshness? (Luke 6:36; Matthew 5:7)
- Am I humble or am I full of pride? (Psalm 25:9; James 4:6)
- Do I reach out to the “least of these” or do I pretend I don’t see? (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27)
- Do we show grace or do we judge others? (Luke 6:37; Matthew 7:5)
When
my son is out in public with my dad, it is obvious he is related. Do my actions
show others that I belong to God?
GOING DEEPER:
1. Will you commit to studying His Word in order
to know our Lord better so you can represent Him well?
2. Is there
one specific trait you know you struggle with representing well? Will you pray
that the Lord will help you with this?
FURTHER READING:
Along
with being a wife and mother to two boys, Tracy
is an administrative assistant at Oakwood, serves on the Women’s Ministry
Special Events Team and leads a great group of Junior High girls.
