This past Advent season, I prepared for Christmas and the coming of our Lord with Blessed Is She’s Advent Devotional, “Bearing Light”. Throughout the Advent season I, along with thousands of other women, reflected upon what it means to bear God’s image into the world. Reflecting on what it means to be made in the image of God has rocked my world, and naturally, I wanted to share what I've discovered (even if I'm a little behind in writing this).
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Imago Dei – made in the image of God. What does it mean be made in the image of God for you?
For me, it means remembering that my value does not come from the things that I do but rather from my identity as a child of God. Just as a child bears the image of his or her parents, we bear the image of our Father, God, to the world.
I often find it easy to get caught up in the doing and lose sight of the being. I get stuck on figuring out what God wants me to do for Him and forget that all He desires is for me to be His daughter, which means allowing Him to love me, and loving Him with all my heart. The things I do, when it comes down to it, are extra for Him.
Because I am so focused on doing things, I often forget that God created me exactly how He wants me to be. He didn’t create me almost exactly the way He wants me to be and then wait to see if I figured it out. From my conception, I was, and am, exactly the way He wants me to be, and He delights in every part of who I am. He knows that I’m not perfect, and He loves that about me, because it means that I need Him. All of my strengths, all of my flaws, all of my weaknesses: God wants it all.
It makes me think of the way an artist creates. When artists create a piece, do they ever intentionally make it not quite the way they want it to be? No! They have a vision, and they use their hands and tools to bring it to fruition. Yes, there may be imperfections, but that is always part of the beauty and charm of the piece as a whole! And God, Who is perfect, can perfectly establish His vision for each of His creations. God delights in me, His creation. I imagine Him creating me, and just as an artist steps back to take in the entirety of the piece he has just created, I imagine God stepping back, and saying, “ah yes, she’s perfect!”
