Addie and I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the parenting conference here at Grace last weekend. (There is still time for you to join us for the last session this Sunday morning!)
One of my big takeaways from the sessions is that it is weird to not talk about God with your kids all the time because He is everywhere - reflected in everything - as the Creator of all.
This truth was encouraging and inspiring as I think about raising Caleb to have an innate God-consciousness from his earliest days. But it also got me thinking about what it means for me that we are created by God.
We are unique among all created things because only human beings are created in the image of God, the Creator.
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. -Genesis 1:27
Being created in the image - or likeness - of God does not mean that I can accurately picture God looking like what wise old grandpa looks like; being created in the likeness of God means that we bear a resemblance to his attributes.
We have the capacity to love because God is Love. We desire justice because God is Just. We are able to exercise creativity because God is Creator.
So, maybe you don’t design or paint or write calligraphy or build or sew or play music… but you are creating somehow. Maybe you are a creative problem solver. Or maybe you are creating an open and loving atmosphere in your home. Or maybe you are creating memories by going on adventures big or small with your family. Because you are created in the image of the Creator, you are creating somehow.
As a creator by trade, it can be hard for me to release a creation of mine out into the world. It feels like I leave a part of myself in everything I create. And because everything I create has a part of me in it, it can be hard to receive feedback on my creation without taking it personally.
I believe both of those impulses - to create things that reflect me and my nature, and to hold my creations personally dear - are direct results of being created in the likeness of our Creator. God created us in His image, which means there is a piece of Him in us; and because God created us in His image, He loves us dearly and takes the way we treat each other - His creations - personally.
The Creator of all things created us to be creators like Him.
The cool thing about this is that every time you create, you are acting in response to who God is. Every time you create, you are engaging in an act of worship. By living out the imago dei - the image of God in you - you are pointing those around you back to their Creator.
So, how are you flexing your creative capacity as a way to reflect the personality of your Creator?
I hope you will join us for our services on Sunday morning! Pastor Mike Barter from our church plant in Hillsboro - Grace Community Fellowship - will be preaching here, while Pastor Jack preaches there. We will also get the special opportunity to hear from a missionary couple we support and, as always, we will pray together, sing together, and study the Bible together.
See you Sunday!
Nathan Ehresman