In the Image of God
Genesis 1:27 ESV
Exodus 19:16-20 ESV
Exodus 34:3 (Only Moses could go up the mountain)
Exodus 34:6 (The Lord passed before Moses)
Exodus 34:28 (Moses was on the mountain for forty days and nights)
Exodus 34:35 (Moses’ face was radiant and shined because he saw God)
Proverbs 15:3 ESV
Ephesians 5:2 ESV
Psalm 34:8 ESV
Acts 1:8 ESV
For some unknown reason I woke up before dawn this morning.
Since I didn’t fall back to sleep after a bit, I decided to get up to let the dog out. I explained to him this would not be a common occurrence…this is a one time thing. You have to understand I talk with my dog frequently. Smile.
Even after I got dressed and I was ready to go outside it was still dark so I grabbed my spotlight and took the dog for a walk.
After a bit I stopped and I realized I heard a deafening sound.
Silence.
Stark silence.
I remembered my Spiritual Director telling me that silence is God’s first language.
I turned off my light and stood there for a moment in the silence. I realized before creation began the silence would have been even more silent. It would have been a trillion times more silent than the moment when the conductor steps on his podium and lightly taps his baton on his podium. Suddenly everyone in the audience stops and the theatre is dead silent.
Then the music begins.
God created. Light. Expanse. Land and sea. Sun, moon, and stars. Oceans, sea creatures and sky creatures. Animals and Man.
It is unfathomable that on the sixth day man was created in the image of Holy God.
The truth is that God chose to create man/woman in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
When we talk about man/woman being created in God’s image we often think that means in the physical image of God. While that does make sense, more than likely it goes much deeper.
I say that because throughout scripture it’s clear that we have a deep connection to God and we can actually touch and experience creation.
On the mountain we learn that Moses met God. In Exodus 19:16-20 we are told that, “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”
While the people of Israel witnessed God descending on the mountain in fire they also felt the mountain tremble and they heard the thunder from the voice of God. However, only Moses was called to the top of the mountain. In Exodus 34:3 God instructed Moses that no one else could come up the mountain. In Exodus 34:6 we learn that the Lord passed before Moses.
Moses was on the mountain with God for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28). Exodus 34:35 tells us because Moses had been in the presence of God, his face was radiant and was shining.
Moses’ experience with God tells us several things.
We know God speaks and has ears to hear because God spoke to Moses and Moses heard the voice of God.
In the image of God, means God hears us and we hear God. On the mountain Moses heard God and God heard Moses. In the same way, the Son of God spoke to the crowds and Jesus heard their requests.
We know that God has eyes to see evil and good. In Proverbs 15:3 we learn, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good..”
In the image of God we can see.
We know from Ephesians 5:2, the Son gave Himself for us. “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
We walk in love because Christ loved us as a fragrant offering. I’m the image of God we love.
David wrote in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
In the image of God we were created to experience the goodness of God.
When Jesus ascended to heaven the Spirit came to earth. In Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The Spirit of God resides in us.
We know God has a heart…a center, and we know God feels deeply.
One look at a sunset gives us a glimpse of the deep mystery of God!
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Silence
Sit in complete silence with God and experience the fullness of who God is…
In God, Deborah