“In the image of God they were created.”
Genesis 1:27

Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:

• This passage from the Book of Genesis is part of the Creation Story.
• God, according to the Genesis Writer, is exceptionally pleased with Its creation, endowing every person, in body, mind, and spirit, with both a thinking and a feeling nature.
• Some Bible commentaries assert that because all humankind originated from the first humans, Adam and Eve, that all of us are their descendants. Therefore, we are all related as siblings who can respect and love one another.
• To be created in God’s image means that no matter who we are, where we live, how we look, what we do, or who we love, we are divine, without exception.
• When we recognize another person as being created in God’s image, we honor both their divinity and their humanity, knowing that each of us is filled with dignity, fully worthy of all God’s goodness. This is how all great spiritual masters live.
• In a July 1965 sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “The whole concept of the imago dei . . ‘image of God’ is the idea that all [people] have something within them that God injected. . . . That every [person] has a capacity to have fellowship with God.  And this gives [them] a uniqueness, it gives [them] worth, it gives [them] dignity.  And we must never forget: . . . there are no gradations in the image of God.  Every[one] . . . is significant . . . made in the image of God.  One day we will learn that.  We will know one day that God made us to live together as [siblings] and to respect the dignity and worth of every[one].

Contemplation Questions:

As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:

• How do I feel knowing that I am created in the image of God?
  • List, word map, or illustrate your feelings, being as specific as you can.

• How do I feel knowing that people I love are created in the image of God?
  • List, word map, or illustrate your feelings, being as specific as you can.

• How do I feel knowing that people I don’t love are created in the image of God?
  • List, word map, or illustrate your feelings, being as specific as you can.

• How do I feel knowing that people I meet tangentially, such as a barista or delivery driver, are created in the image of God?
  • List, word map, or illustrate your feelings, being as specific as you can.

• How do I feel knowing that strangers on the opposite side of the world are created in the image of God?
  • List, word map, or illustrate your feelings, being as specific as you can.

• When I reflect on all my feelings, what similarities and what differences do I notice?
  • List, word map, or illustrate the similarities in one section and the differences in another.

• Especially for those I have trouble seeing as an image of God, what are at least three (3) things I can do to shift my perspective?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as you can imagine.
  • Then, note the shifts you experience.

Take your time and be gentle with yourself as you use this devotional.  Remember that we are called to love one another, meaning to behold each other as God’s Beloveds.  This doesn’t mean, however, that we must like someone else, approve of their behavior, or choose to be, have, or do what they choose.

Also, avoid creating God in your image, making God a superhero, or capricious, condemning figure who metes out punishments and rewards.  Rather, think of God as the great loving, compassionate presence, source, substance, and sustenance of the universe which imbues all things with life.  When we reflect on God as Divine Creator, our focus can shift from judgments about who someone is personally.  Then we more easily recognize their divinity and their humanity.

© 2022 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.