READ: GENESIS 1:26-27; ROMANS 8:28-29; 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17–4:6

Have you ever heard someone talk about how people are “made in the image of God?” What does that mean?

Essentially, it means we are God’s representatives here on earth and He created us with some of the same qualities He has: creativity, love, intelligence, a sense of justice, wisdom, kindness, and mercy—just to name a few. Whenever people express these qualities, whether they are Christians or not, they are doing it because they were made in the image of God. And when we see that happen, we can praise God for it!

Being made in God’s image gives each person immeasurable value—not because of anything we do, but because of who God is. Our Creator is perfect and holy and good, so anyone created in His likeness—including you, your best friend, and your worst enemy—is worth more than we can possibly imagine. And while we can’t reflect God’s image perfectly because sin has broken our image-bearing ability, each human life still points to the one who made it.

As people made in the image of God, our primary identity is “people loved by God.” That is at the core of who we are. God made us in His image to love us.

And we have an amazing job description: to do His will here on earth. That’s a very weighty (and sometimes confusing) job, but it all boils down to loving God, loving each other, and caring for creation (Genesis 1:28; Matthew 22:37-40). How do we do that in our broken state? We look to Jesus! He is the One who made it possible for us, as broken-by-sin-image-bearers, to resemble our Creator once more. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus Christ, believing in His death and resurrection, we can know that His Holy Spirit is now living in us, conforming us to the image of Christ. By leaning on the Holy Spirit, we can learn to see the ways God has made us—and others—in His glorious image. And that is a wonderful sight to behold. • Taylor Eising

• Where do you see God’s image reflected in yourself? Where do you see it reflected in others?

• When your friends are struggling with their identities or self-worth, what are some ways you could encourage them about who they are as image-bearers of God?

And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we will also bear the image of the man of heaven [Jesus]. 1 Corinthians 15:49 (CSB)