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Today's word in the big words of the Bible devo series is “In His Image - part 3.”Think of the amazing gift we have been given in being made in His image, in being “image bearers” of the Lord of the universe: We were created for eternity with an eternal soul We were made for a relationship with our creator We were given the gift of relationships with one another We were granted the gift of moral freedom We were given the amazing capacity to create We were given the ability to love deeplyThe apostle Paul puts all this in perspective in Ephesians 2:10. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The word “workmanship” means a unique work of art, a one of a kind. As unique works of God we were created for a personal relationship with him in Christ Jesus, in order to join him in His work in this world (good works) which God prepared for each of us “in advance.”In endowing us with His image, He gave something of Himself to mankind. Our very ability to know and love him and one another is part of that gift. I can adore and love my spouse and my children and have meaningful relationships with others because He chose to make me in His image. I can know Him, serve Him, join Him in His work in this world because he made me in His image. I can use all my creativity in loving and caring and serving and living because He made me in His image.Seen in that light, we cannot ignore the spiritual and human needs around us or of our world and truly be like Jesus. Life is precious. People are precious. Even the most broken individual is a potential son or daughter of the king because all were stamped with His image. No other part of God’s creation was endowed with an eternal soul or an eternal destiny. To care for people and their situations is to see people as Jesus sees them and to love them as He loves them. To live selfishly, immune from the suffering of others, is to reject the nobility God placed within man, even though sin has made much so ignoble.This should change the way we see people: not through our categories but through God’s eyes. Every individual has God’s divine imprint, is an object of His love, and a potential recipient of His grace and forgiveness if they come to Him. How can we despise what God does not despise? How can we withhold concern for those that Jesus does not withhold concern? How can we turn our backs on those that Jesus would not turn His back to? The fact that we are all made in His image changes the equation for how we view people and their brokenness. We cannot be like Jesus and turn our backs on anyone.Every time we go out of our way to bring life to a situation, we make the heart of God glad. Each word that encourages, touch that shows love, help that brings hope, or Good News that speaks to the soul mirrors the heart of God toward those He created. None are beyond His grace and none are too broken for his healing.Father, thank you for creating me in your image. I cannot fathom the implications of that but I thank you and ask that you would help me to treat all who come across our path as those also made in your image. Amen.