Created in His Image

1 The Nourishing Vocation Project Near and Now: Vocation: Who are you called to be? What are you called to do? Warm-up Question When you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do you feel? "Grace - Mirror" by phil41dean is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Discussion Questions 1. What do you see in this image? 2. What do you feel looking at this image? 3. What stories from your own life does this image bring to mind? 4. What stories of the world does this image bring to mind? 2 So God created humankind in his image Read Genesis 1:26-31 Bible Story Reflection God has been hard at work, creating light and darkness, sea and sky, land and plants. Then God fills all those things with sun, moon, and stars; fish and birds. All of these things are good according to God. Then the reader comes to day six, the final day of creation. And the last thing to be made, the crown of creation, is humankind. It sounds cliché and maybe hard to believe, but God saved the best for last. Yet, we humans are not just created out of a fickle thought. There is purpose and intention to how we are made. God said, “let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness”. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, nothing else created is made in God’s image. What exactly it means that humanity is made in the image of God is vague, perhaps intentionally. Passively, God gives dominion to humankind over all animals. In this creation story, it is not clear what humanity is to do with that dominion. Yet, what is clear is God’s desire for both humanity and creation to grow and flourish. To that end, God has provided sustenance, namely plants, seeds, and fruit for humans and animals alike (notice nothing was said about animals as food…). This sixth day, like all the other days in creation, is planned and purposeful. In this passage we receive both Law and Gospel. God creates the inhabitants of sea, land and sky and passes along power, establishing good order for the protection and flourishing of creation. Yet, only on the sixth day does God say that what God created is “very good”. This is indeed good news. So often humanity is self-centered, violent, and deceitful. Simply look at news headlines or Facebook. While that may be true, it is also true that we are made in God’s image. That tension is hard to reconcile, but as we explore this passage consider where and how you see this image manifested in those around you. Discussion Questions 1. Who is God speaking to in this passage? Who are the co-creators? 2. What do you think it means that humankind is made in the image of God? 3. Share when you’ve seen that image reflected in the words or actions of others. 4. What do you hear as gospel in this passage and what do you hear as law? 5. When “God saw everything” and called it “very good,” what do you think everything refers to? 6. How does being made in God’s image influence who you are called to be or what you are called to do? 7. When you look in the mirror, do you see the image of God? Why or why not? 8. In what ways do/can you bear the image of God, helping all creation flourish? Think of specifics for your daily life. Written by Cogan Blackmon 3 Activity Suggestions Tend to the care and needs of a plant or animal this week, whichever is less common. Help it to flourish! Reflect on how you feel before and after. You are made in God’s image. Draw or paint a picture of what you think God sees when looking upon you. How does this compare with what you see in the mirror? As a group, have each person share what they see as “very good” in creation. After each person has shared, pray together giving thanks to God for all that is very good. Prayer Concerns Those who struggle to look in a mirror, victims of violence, and plants and animals ravaged by climate change, Closing Prayer Lead me, O God, to see your face in every person I encounter and to be your face for all whom I meet. In the name of +Jesus, Amen. Written by Cogan Blackmon