Created in God's Image for a God-like Purpose

A short reflection on Genesis 1:26

Photo by Gustavo Quepón on Unsplash

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…

Genesis 1:26a (NIV)

In ancient Near East stories, the gods created things for their pleasure and use. Humanity, for example, was created as a result of a need for slave labor to provide for the gods a convenient, comfortable existence. We also see humanity created using a mixture of clay and blood from the slain bodies of other gods. Humans, then, are believed to be formed from “bloody mud, tainted by the gravest guilt and shame.”¹ Creation, in these stories, results from conflict, bloodshed, and death.

In contrast, the Biblical story of creation shows God bringing light and new life to the formless and empty wilderness, creating space from out of the darkness and deep for adam (humanity). God creates, separates, and orders the world to function on behalf of humanity.