“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
In His Image
From the beginning, in Genesis 1:27, we are told we are made in the image and likeness of God. We tend to hear this statement a lot “She/he looks so much like you (or their other parent).” A child is often a spitting image of their parents; we too should be a spitting image of God the Father. God is our Heavenly Father, we too take that likeness and image and pass it downwards to our children. In the beginning, two people were initially made in the image and likeness of God- Adam (human being) and Eve (mother of living). After the great fall or original sin, we lost some of that appearance.
Now, since sin entered the world, we continue to strive to obtain a likeness to God through transformation the by the power of the Death and Resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
Recently my son asked me, “Why is dog God spelled backward?” I answered, “I am not sure except that it’s just the English word for dog.” He responded, “Well maybe since a dog is known to be a man’s best friend then a man should be God’s best friend?” A 10-year had such a deep insight, practically on cue, while I, the adult, was merely puzzled at first by the whole exchange.
One of the theories about the origin of the word ‘dog’ is that it came from an old German word ‘docga’ or ‘dogga’ which was referred to a specific powerful breed type. However, the more I thought about the nature of dogs, the more I realized my son was onto something quite profound. Dogs are known to be loyal and obedient, great guardians for their master’s home when they are loved. Sometimes dogs fall into trouble because of their breed or because they have been mistreated or even taught to be aggressive. When people are mistreated, they can become violent or even evil but when they truly experience Divine Love, they are healed, reflect love in return and are free to respond to God with loyalty and obedience and soon reflect His image to those around them.
