Deafened By The False Alarms

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

- Genesis 1:26-27

What we believe about ourselves shapes the way we live our lives.

What I believe about myself shapes the way I live my life.

Above all other belief systems in my life, what I believe about my beginning, purpose, and destiny shapes how I live. When Lloyd said that at church today I was taken aback. Shouldn't he say that what I believe about God shapes how I live more than my other beliefs do? Or my beliefs about knowledge, or morals, or values or something?

Nope.

Well, this message was written for me.

Turns out so was Genesis 1, because it gets even better. Lloyd went on to say that you can go plenty of other places to find out what you believe about yourself. The work force: you are what you do. The intellectual world: you are what you think. Other people: you are what you can do for them. Yourself: you are what's going on inside of you.

I would add: College: you are how you look and what your major is. And what dorm you live in and how funny you are and who your boyfriend is and what music you like and your GPA.

God says in Genesis 1:26-27 that I am MADE in HIS IMAGE.

I mean, we've heard this before. But what does it mean, really? Imago Dei. We are made to be like Him. To be relational like Him. And to be of worth like Him.

Worth is not earned, it is imparted. When God spoke those words and created man in His image, he gave humankind inherent worth. I matter. You matter. We matter because He made us to reflect how He matters.

People will go to great lengths to know they matter. I think a great deal of my life has been spent trying to know I matter. What I put on in the morning, what I say when I'm angry, the friends I make, the hours I spend working out...some days it's all about convincing myself and everyone around me that I matter. That I am worth something.

How many times do I have to tell myself it's not about what I do? Why can't I detach myself from my actions/earnings? I am not my body or my favorite band or the degree I earn. I am who God says I am, and He calls me beloved. Daughter. Princess. Beautiful. Valuable. His. Made righteous. Justified. Blessed.

Do I see myself as God sees me?

I think it's a choice. He told me who I am, now I have to believe Him. How can I sit back and tell God I don't believe Him? "Does the clay say to the potter, What have you made?" It's unnatural to think of myself as worthy, and it's against my thought process every day. But it's true, and I trust that. I trust that my life can be shaped by a better view of myself. I've spent too much time believing the lies I tell myself. Every day anew I want to choose to believe the truth.

I invite you to take that step of faith with me. Let's believe Him.