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 teenage sons, Tracy is a ministry assistant at
Oakwood, serves on the Women’s Ministry Special Events Team and works with a
great group of Junior High girls.
