The other day my wife with her parents took the kids to
the zoo. During my morning prayer I was led to pray for them and their time
there. I asked that the Lord create in my family a joy to view some of His
workmanship, and that it would lead them to lift up praise. I mean how cool is
it to go and see a bug that looks like God hand painted a design on it? Or to
see a Lion, and the shear strength of that beast? It was during this kind
prayer that I was brought to what is an even greater creation than that of
animals... I am sure you to have already thought of it... “We” are a greater
creation then the animals. Why is that?... It is because we were made in the
image of God!
When God made all creation He never said "Let us make
them in Our image..." to anything except for when He made man. If we are
made in the image of God then what should our response be to people in general
be? That is a something I want to look at for a just a minute. If we are the
image of God, then what does it mean, or what does it matter how we treat other
people? This goes for both treating people good, and bad. Consider when we
defile our body, and, or others, then we are defiling the image of God. You
name the defilement, be it sexual sins (even in our mind towards others),
gluttony, lying, etc... These actions are a direct insult to God, because He
made us in His image. Or even look at it like this. If we hold unforgiveness
towards others, it is like we are holding unforgiveness towards God. Jesus came
to us, and became our full measure of sin. He became our defilement towards
God, taking on the full punishment and wrath of God for us. Then He says
"I forgive them." In such an act of love towards us, this should lead
us to the same act towards others. Remember what Jesus said here:
Mat 25:40 NKJV And the King will
answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
Why did Jesus say this? Because all men were created in
the image of God! To take this even farther Jesus came in the likeness of men,
being the Son of God, and being the Image of the Invisible God. He being God,
the visible image of God, made in the likeness of God, and in the likeness of
man, He brought the two together. Even the creation of man was a foreshadowing
of Christ to come! Therefore however we treat men is in affect how we treat God
Himself!
Even with this in mind there is still another part of the
creation that points to Christ. What is an even greater creation than when God
created man (in His image)? That is the new creation of man through Christ
Jesus. Just as Jesus fulfilled the foreshadowing when God created man, He was
the first born in the new life! To capture this let us look at a few verses, as
they say it best!
Col 1:15-20 NKJV He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by Him all things were created that are
in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and
for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and in Him all
things consist. (18) And He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all
things He may have the preeminence. (19) For it
pleased the Father that in Him all the
fullness should dwell, (20) and by
Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, having made peace through
the blood of His cross.
Rev 1:5 NKJV and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To
Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
2Co 5:16-19 NKJV Therefore, from now on, we regard no one
according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the
flesh, yet now we know Him thus no
longer. (17) Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (18) Now all things are
of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us
the ministry of reconciliation, (19) that is,
that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their
trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Jas 1:18 NKJV Of His
own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures.
To bring this to a close, I said all of this because what
greater praise should we give then that of a man turning from his old ways and
tuning to Christ Jesus! When we see the freeing work of Christ being worked in
men we are seeing firsthand the power and greatest work of GOD!!! This work
that we are granted to see is an even greater work than that of the creation of
the world and the creation of Man! This work proves that our God is not dead,
but a live and active today!
I pray that you are blessed in your daily ministry to
others! Be encourage in your pursuit to lead others to Him! For you are the
hands and feet of a God who is doing a mighty work in the men you look after!
In this let us lift up praise!
Your Brother in Christ
Grace and Peace be with you
Nate Cook, Setting Captives Free Team
Member
And Jesus said to me:
Eze 3:10b-11a "...Receive into your heart all My words
that I speak to you, and hear with your ears, and go, get
to the captives..."
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