Tuesday, October 9, 2007

In God's Image And Likeness

I am convinced more now than ever before that people are naturally good. There is a bible verse in Genesis which reads that we were made in the image and likeness of God. God is within each and every one of us! This is an amazing thing to think about and something we should never forget. It can be hard to remember sometimes when we look around and see evil surrounding us. We see terrible things being done around us and we ask ourselves how anyone could do these things. Our tendency it to conclude that these people are just naturally bad, but I do not believe this is the case. God did not say only Americans are made in the image and likeness of God, or only those with blond hair and blue eyes are made in the image and likeness of God. He said WE ALL are made in the image and likeness of God.

We are made in God's image, but we are not God ourselves. We are sinners and God knows that we will sin, but he still loves us. We should treat all our neighbors, regardless of their weaknesses, as brothers and sisters. It should not be the sinner we hate, but the sin itself. Instead of hating people we should try to help them rid their sinful ways. Afterall, we are also sinners, and we need help at times too.

I am thoroughly convinced that if everyone looked at each other as an image and likeness of God, most if not all the world's problems would be solved. I am thoroughly convinced of this. Violence begets violence. Peace begets peace. Anger begets anger. Forgiveness begets forgiveness. Hate begets hate. Love begets love. When we show kindness and love towards one another, kindness and love will spread. I am thoroughly convinced of this.

When we see people do bad things on television or hear about it on the Internet or see it with our own eyes, instead of cursing them publicly or even privately, perhaps we should pray for them. I believe that it is very possible that the reason they commit terrible crimes is because they don't know God. It is very possible that they were not raised in a stable household. Their parents may have never told them about God and all of his goodness. We can not live another person's life, and we cannot know everything they have been through or where they've been, but we can show them God's love. We can lead by example. We can have a great impact on people's lives. Remember that through God, all things are possible. We can save a sinner. We can save a person. We can save one who is made in the image and likeness of God.

1 comment:

David said...

Thanks for the uplifting post. I found this post to be more positive than the last two.

We are made in God's image. There is nothing more important in life than to follow his example, but there are times that we make it more difficult than it is. If we pray and read the bible and follow God's words, then we will spread his love to others and that will help the world.