Many to day try to convince themselves and others that God is just something man made up in order to meet a weakness we have. But Genesis tells us that man was made in the image of God. God was not made up in the imagination of man. Moses tells us in Genesis 1:27 that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. And particularly in regard to his creation of human kind, God says in verse 31, “Behold, it was very good”.
Contrast that with what God said about mankind’s imaginations in Genesis 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. That’s what mankind’s imagination apart from the good influences of God in a life produces. And of course we take it farther when we create physical images to represent God and worship them. In the second of the ten commandments, God says “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them”.
So in an ironic way, what modern man accuses Christians of doing (making up ‘God’), is very seriously prohibited by God himself. Although few educated people worship graven images, many unfortunately worship various created things, including humankind, or intellect. For those Paul has a strong warning in Romans, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations…professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator”. Ironic as well is the thought that those who think they are the wisest are the most likely to fall into the trap of not worshipping the Creator.
Which brings us back to the thought that God created you and me in his image. We’ve degraded that image through sin, but God is gracious and sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross to redeem us from our sins, and to re-create us in the image of Jesus. Won’t you believe on him now?
Helmers Street Baptist Church 