Monday 5th June, 2023
“so God created humankind in his own image. In his image he created them. Male and female he created them”
Genesis 1:27
So important is the message that we are made in God’s image that it’s repeated twice and then emphasised that it means all of us (male and female)
God is Love.
We are made in the image of love.
Our whole purpose in life, our reason for being, is to reflect the image of God, to reflect the image of Love.
We are created in love, with love, as love. Love is the substance of our being, it is our life’s essence, it is who we are, it is our original created nature, looked upon by our creator, love itself and called “very good”
Until sin entered the world and convinced us to act in ways contrary to love.
Whenever we choose love, in that moment we return to Eden. When we love we fulfil our life’s purpose, we reflect our creator, love itself and we draw upon our own life escense. We are made of love, but sadly that core of divinity, that divine spark can become clouded, hidden, by the sin and corruption of the world in which we live. When we love we seek out that spark, we ignite it, connect with it and we shine with it’s glory. When we love we become who we really are, for that is who we are, the created children of love itself, reflecting the very image of our parent- love.
Augustine convinced Christendom of original sin, a self loathing that convinces us that our very nature is sin, that we are corrupted, bound by instinct to sin, that at our very core we are unloving, sinful, evil.
But that’s not what the fall did, evil does not have the power to change the very nature of God’s creation, it cannot change our substance, our make up, our very being. Deep within us, at our core we are love, love that has been tarnished, but still love, it’s why when we sin we feel bad, because sin is not human nature, it goes against human nature. When we love we feel great because we begin to realise who we really are, we connect with our very deepest selves, that which the Lord called “very good” and more than that, we reflect our creator.
Why does God hate the things listed in Proverbs 6? Because they hurt God’s creation, but more than that, they dampen our spark, they are unnatural for us, they prevent us from fulfilling our potential, from being the creatures of divine love we were created to be.
The bible tells us that one day God will be “all in all” We are love, all of us, fragments of the love created by love itself and there will come a time, when evil is defeated, that we return to our creator, are reconciled with him, he will become all we are, in all of us. We will be love.
Until then, we must seek to ignite the love that still exists at the core of our being, hidden beneath the selfishness and lust for power, we must find it within us, our true self, and let it shine. Only then will we reflect God and only then will we be all we are supposed to be.
