We are all creations of God

?Then God said, ?Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.? So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.? We read this famous passage in the book of Genesis. We see that we were created by God in his image. Each one of us looks very different from the other one but one thing still remains. We are creations of God.

The past two weeks have been extremely unsettling. Tragic loss of life and escalated violence cuts through the news agencies and takes center stage in our focus as a nation. The question that I keep getting asked is why? What is the root cause of all this instability and apparent unrestrained evil? The answer to that question can be found in the previous paragraph. As a nation, we have encountered an identity crisis of Biblical proportion. We are ALL creations of God. Regardless of skin color, nationality, or upbringing, we are all created by God in his image. And no one deserves to be marginalized or minimized based on any preconceived bias or prejudice. Rather than identify ourselves as a creation of God, we have allowed ourselves to become focused on differences rather than similarities.

The burning ember of anger that we feel rise up inside of us when we see someone mistreated or some grave injustice occur is more than just my personal emotions laid alongside my personal convictions. I believe it to be something far more internalized. I believe it is the crying out of our souls saying ?STOP! DON?T YOU UNDERSTAND THEY ARE JUST LIKE YOU. HE CREATED THEM TOO.? The despair that we feel is the anguish of our soul trying to show us its eternal value and significance.

The senseless taking of life will not stop until we come together and recognize the first and foremost truth. Each man, woman, boy, and girl was created by God. They are our brothers and sisters. We all were his creation. No amount of speeches can cure this deep-rooted disease called sin. We are being called to open our eyes and realize that it isn?t about skin color or stereotypes. It is about a soul that unless it is made right with God, will be lost forever. Each individual that lost their life over the past couple of weeks had a soul. Where will that person spend eternity?

Each person in this nation has a voice. What is yours saying? When was the last time you looked at that person who was different in some way than you and had a realization that God created them the same as he did you? We know the verse John 3:16, ?For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.? Most of us said this in church at some point. But do we truly understand the meaning? God loved the whole entire world. He didn?t see a skin color or even a nationality. He simply saw the souls of every one of us. That is what we have to get back to. We would love to have you come in and worship with us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. on Sunday nights.