In His Image
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27 NKJV.
Ronald Norcliffe has farmed for 30 years in West Yorkshire, England and thought that he had always taken good care of his farm animals. However, when Environmental Health Department inspectors checked out his farm in 2008, they believed that Norcliffe was mistreating his farm animals, which consisted of a cow and a calf. What horrendous nefarious thing had Norcliffe done? He had failed in meeting the psychological needs of the cow and the calf. How had he done that? He did not provide adequate lighting in his barn for the animals. Norcliffe said that he had always lived fine without having electricity in his own house and his attorney said, “I still have no idea how much lighting is appropriate for a cow.” I don’t either!
God is concerned about cattle as seen in Jonah 4:11, and for all animals upon this earth. God is concerned about the mistreatment of animals as we see in the incident with Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22:22-33. God is also concerned about everything on this planet and beyond, because He made it all. However, God is more concerned about Homo Sapiens because mankind is made in the image of God Himself. In Genesis 1:27 we are told, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
God is so concerned about mankind that Jesus left the glories of Heaven to descend to this Earth where He suffered and died on the cross for our sins. Jesus did not die for the animals, the birds, the fish, or the plants; He died for those created in His image. Every person that has ever been born, or will be born, is of immense value to God. You are of great importance to God.
Once we know Jesus as our Savior having been born again, the Holy Spirit lives within us and our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit as 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” It is therefore, our responsibility to care for God’s creation and His temple, which is our body.
I will confess that I have not always taken the best care of my body. However, once I comprehended how seriously God views the care of His creation, and temple; it has made me be more careful in what I put into this body, what I do with this body, and what I do to this body of mine. However, in my own strength I am unable to provide perfect care for my body. Just like so many other things in the Christian life I need God’s help; I need His strength to take care of my body. We need to ask God for His help, strength, and wisdom to care for our bodies.
Let us always seek to please our God in the way that we care for our bodies and for all of His creation.
(Mankind is created in God’s image and we have a responsibility to take care of this creation above all other things created by God.)