Created in His Image

God had a wonderful plan when He created humanity. "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27).

God gave us amazing bodies. Our hearts beat faithfully year after year; our lungs breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide without our supervision. Our blood flows, unseen, supplying nutrition to trillions of cells and carries away waste products to predetermined disposal sites. Blood cells vigilantly send out emergency teams to build clots when injuries occur, and they surround and fight off enemy invaders to keep our bodies healthy.

We digest the weirdest foods with little thought. Our eyes read this print and interact with our brains to comprehend its meaning. Our brains then file useful information in fractions of a second. Our ears pick up jumbled vibrations passing through airwaves and distinguish between useless noise and meaningful words. Our senses even perceive body language, which often speaks louder than words.

But how are we made in God's image? Do you ever wonder what God's image looks like? When Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus replied, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

The Holy Spirit filled Christ's physical body. Jesus revealed God's image when He had compassion on the people; He caused the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to live. He drove demons out of lost souls and gave them new life. He fed the crowds with bread and fish and taught them that He was the bread of life. He stood against corrupt religious leaders who fed themselves instead of God's people, and He calmed the storm and the disciple's fears.

Jesus not only showed us God's image; He made a way for us to be recreated (born again) into God's image. Jesus prayed for us before He went to the cross: "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21).

The disciples, who walked and talked with Jesus for three years, could not reflect God's image through their own power or personalities. When the high priest's servant came with the crowd to arrest Jesus, Peter cut off his ear. Then he denied knowing Jesus three times, and the other disciples fled-but a mighty change came to their lives after Jesus defeated death at the cross and then sent the Holy Spirit to comfort, lead, and empower them.

God knows we are not able to reflect His image within our own power because He is the Potter who formed us. "For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

Every time I read about being a clay pot, I remember how God reduced Gideon's fighting force down from 32,000 men to 300 to come against tens of thousands of Midianites. His plan was simple. Each man held a torch inside a clay jar with one hand and carried a trumpet in the other hand. Just at the right time, they all blew their trumpets and broke their jars. The light from the broken jars convinced the Midianites that thousands were behind each light so they fled.

The story causes me to consider what pours out of me when circumstances crack my pot: Do people see God's light pour out of me, or do they see a tantrum or a breakdown? I think they have probably seen both. I am thankful that my merciful God claims me as His clay pot.

Sue Carlisle grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. An enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see our awesome Creator. Sue is author of Walking with the Creator Along the Narrow Road (2013 Indian Life Books) and a columnist for Indian Life. She and her husband, Wes, now live in Thunder Bay, Ontario.