Day 14 - Issue 22
Colossians 3:1a NLT
'Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven.'
The Bible tells us that each one of us is made in both the image and the likeness of God. Indeed, whereas the rest of creation is called forth, humanity, the crown of God’s creation, is carefully crafted in this way. Image tells us that God is recognisable in each of us and directs us to treat each other with the same respect and awe with which we approach God. Of course, in a highly secularised society, where economic viability appears the dominant driver, there is a shift towards seeing people according to their economic value, and losing sight of their divine and intrinsic value. This allows decisions about human welfare to be made primarily from the economic realities with all else no more than mitigating circumstances.
However, we are also made in the likeness of God and this presents an opportunity that our behaviours might either rise to reflect the incarnate Jesus or sink to the lowest levels of depravity. Our problem is that we can with reason create a host of evil experiences for others well beyond the instinctive destruction that the animal kingdom is capable of when threatened. Our world is a storybook of inhumanity exercised by one group of humans over another. Our news broadcasts cause our hearts to ache and tears to flow.
One purpose of deepening our friendship with God is that we might increasingly discover those characteristics of Jesus and through prayer and discipline aspire to incorporate them into our own lives. Through such prayer we discern the behaviours associated with Jesus and discover the means to access and practise them. Yet, we can only ever aspire to such a mindset if we are unwilling to develop a personal and consistent practice of continuous prayer. And such a practice simply means making time to regularly draw aside with God and nurture that friendship. Ten minutes at the start and end of each day is a great place to start to establish such consistency. QUESTION: How well is the likeness of God flourishing in your heart and behaviours?
PRAYER: Father, I long to serve you and to become more like you in this world. Help me set my mind on things that are above.
