After each day of creation, God saw that what He created was good…except after the sixth day of creation. After God made mankind and saw all that He had made, He saw that it was very good. Creation lacked something those first five days. Only after the creation of people were things ‘very good.’
People are the only thing in all of creation formed in His image. Every human being bears God’s image—a great characteristic to share with every other person on earth! The more we start seeing others as made in God’s image, the more of God’s image we see in them.
As we see His image in others, we’re ready to follow the commissions God gives us—in Genesis 1 and Matthew 28. Have you ever noticed how similar they are? God wants us to go, to be fruitful, and to multiply.
Sometimes we think that to be a missionary, we need to go to a foreign country. While God may call people to do that, it’s not a requirement. You can be a missionary and go…across the street! You see, the greatest missionary force in the church is…the church. It’s not super-spiritual people or only those with passports. It’s the body of Christ behaving as Christ’s body in a dead and dying world—all around the world! As the global church, God wants us to reflect His image to everyone…who happen to be made in His image.
But we can’t do it alone. We need one another so we can show God to the world. So the next time you want to see God, go to church and look around. You’ll see His body—His image—reflected in the people you meet. They are not perfect, but they are being perfected. They are not God, but they are made in His image…just like you.
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