Made to Reflect God

God has made us in His image & desires us to reflect Him. Part of this must be chosen: to love as He loves. Let's discuss how we can do that.

Made to Reflect God

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

I keep thinking about my little son growing more and certainly kicking more every day. I consider how he looks and wonder how he will resemble both my husband and me. While I don't know just yet if he'll have his daddy's nose or his mama's eyes, I know that he will be a reflection of both of us in his own unique way.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. What an incredible reality! Being made in the image of God means that they were created to reflect God, to resemble Him in specific ways. Then, in Genesis 5:3, it says that, "When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth." So Adam's son was made in Adam's own likeness, who was made in God's likeness. This means then that the image of God is passed down throughout generations so that you too, then, are made in God's image, created to reflect Him.

There are many characteristics of God that we do not and cannot reflect. For instance, God is all-powerful, and we certainly are not, and while it would be a cool superpower to be all-knowing, I am still glad that God alone holds that attribute. There are, however, many things in which God has called us to reflect Him. One of these is love. God is love, and He is indeed a loving God. While we may not be able to love at the same depth and breadth of our great God, He has certainly called us to love. Consider the following verse:

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:11-12)

How many times have you heard from a non-believer something along the lines of, "Well, if I could just see God then maybe I'd believe." Well, 1 John is clear, nobody has ever seen God. But God has designed us and called us to reflect how He loves as a witness to both ourselves and the world around us of His goodness.

So how does this love look? Well, if our love should reflect God's love, let's consider how the Lord loves.

He loves unconditionally.
His love is not based on what we do but based on who He is. We can likewise love others based on who God is and not based on how much or little another person deserves it.

He loves sacrificially.
God displayed His love in the greatest possible way on the cross. We can reflect His sacrificial love to the world by loving even when it hurts and not only when it is convenient to do so.

He loves faithfully.
God's love is unchanging and consistent, again, because it is based on who He is. It doesn't waver or lessen and is completely trustworthy. We can show love in this way by being committed in our relationships with others and being a trustworthy partner, family member, and friend.

Every night when you look up and see the moon, which does not have a light source of its own, as it just reflects the sun, let it be a reminder for you to reflect the Son in every way in which you are able.

Consider these questions today:

What are some other attributes of God that you are called to reflect?
How would the most important relationships in your life be affected if you more clearly reflected that attribute of God this week?