Made In His Image

Yesterday was a great day! It started off as a typical Sunday - church. During the service, Charlie announced his appointment at Mulberry Gap and Jones Chapel. The church is very supportive of us as we begin this new chapter in our lives and we are very lucky to have such a wonderful church family.

After church it was the usual lunch at Nana's (minus Dad who is out of town). Then, Charlie and I decided to go to Sevierville to the book outlet (I know - we own a bookstore...haha). Well, Lawson decided he needed to go with us even though we told him he would have more fun at Nana's...he soon found out we were right. Anyway, we had a great trip to the bookstore, stopped at a couple of other places to shop around and then headed back home to rest for a bit before Sunday evening services.

Here is where the day gets better. I laid down for a while and fell asleep; I woke up just in time to get dressed and make it to church. My first thought when I woke up was "I don't really want to go to church tonight." I laid there for a moment but decided to get up and go anyway. And, it never fails...when I don't want to go is when I receive the greatest blessing!

Mark Hicks - pastor of two local Methodist churches - was asked to preach at the service last night. I have always enjoyed his sermons and this evening was no different. His sermon was about how we are all made in the image of God. I want to share with you what this said to me and how much I needed to hear it!

Genesis 1:27 says "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

As he began to speak about this verse he asked - hypothetically - what we felt the image of God was. Does he have 10 fingers, 10 toes, arms, legs, etc.? If so, then when an accident happens to someone and they lose a part of their body, are they no longer and image of God? Wow...what an awful thing to imagine; you are made in the image of God and something tragic happens to you then you are no longer and image of Him.

He went on to speak about this image. What if we are a spiritual image of God? God is a spiritual being so, he has no finger, toes, arms, legs, etc.

Genesis 2:7 says "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." God breathed the breathe of life into us which to me means He breathed His spirit into us to make us a living person. Makes sense, right?

Mark used the analogy of a baseball size diamond. If someone takes that diamond and rolls it around in the dirt and mud, do you still want it? OF COURSE...it is a baseball size diamond! We are that same "diamond" to God. Even as we are rolled around in the dirt and mud of life we are still the image of God underneath all of it.

As I begin to be "washed in the word" I feel this was a wonderful sermon for me to hear. It does not matter what life throws at me, or how much "mud" covers me, underneath all of it I am still made in the image of God; I am His child and he wants all of me!