In the Image of God

Being raised is a Christian home and going to church most of my life, I have heard it said many times that we are made in the image of God. The Bible even says it, in Genesis 1:26, where God says, "Let us make man in our image..." The Bible also says, "I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:14). Even though I grew up memorizing these verses and hearing them all the time, I have never taken the time to consider what they truly mean, what they are actually saying. This kind of hit me this morning at church, as something the pastor said triggered something in my mind that I have been struggling with most of my life, and especially lately.

These are two verses I bring up a lot, especially when I am working with the junior high girls back home, as many of them have self esteem issues and cannot see that God made them beautiful. I have "preached", per se, on this topic many times. The thing that had been bothering me more and more lately is that I, however, do not see myself in this light. Although I know everything God has made is unique and wonderful, and that God loves everything He has created, I cannot see myself as beautiful, talented, of worth, et cetera. I know everything God has made has a purpose, every person on this earth is here for a reason, whether they believe in God or not, He will use their lives in some positive way.

This morning, after an especially hard week of struggling with "self doubt", as my friend calls it, hearing the pastor say "We are made in God's image," a question popped into my head. If I am made in God's image, and I tell myself I am not beautiful, that I am ugly, am I saying that God Himself is also ugly? If I, being made in His image, say I am worthless, am I also saying that God is worthless? I could go on down the list of things I end up telling myself on a regular basis, but there really is no use in that. My point is, if I am made in the image of God, and I see myself in a negative light, does that affect, if not completely distort, my view of God? Am I, in insulting myself, insulting the Almighty Creator of the universe?

I do not have the answers to these questions, but you can bet that I will be searching for these answers, and I will be trying to work in my own life, so that I may eventually come to see myself as God does, and as others here on Earth do. In my Spiritual Formation class, we were given an assignment to write down four or five "goals" for our spiritual growth this year. Being able to learn to see myself as God does is number one on my list, because I know the way I view myself and the way I constantly beat myself up is not good for me, and it has effected my faith at times, because I know I am not at all worthy of being used by God to fulfill His plans, and that makes me back away from opportunities God has placed in my life. I do not want my negative view of myself to get in the way of God using me and my life to see His will done here on earth. So, this is my prayer: That God will continue to be patient and merciful with me, as I seek to learn how to see myself through His eyes, so that I may know if my life have value, that I may know if I am beautiful. I also pray that everyone else out there who is facing the same, or a similar, problem will also have their eyes opened to see themselves as God, our Heaven Father and Glorious Creator sees them.