In His Image

Join us as we dive into how we were created in the Lord’s image invites us to reflect on the depth of our identity and purpose as His creation. It means recognizing that we are intentionally made with value, dignity, and the capacity to reflect His character in the way we think, love, and live. As His children, living this out goes beyond belief—it shapes our actions, guiding us to show compassion, extend grace, pursue righteousness, and walk in humility. It calls us to mirror His love in our relationships, to seek truth, and to represent Him in a way that honors His name in every area of our lives.

Transcript

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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Jesus Talks. It is a new day. I know this is going up not on a Friday, and I know that might be a little bit surprising to some people, but life has been so crazy recently in the best ways possible. So I really have just taken time to sit with the Lord and pray about what days I want to upload. That way I feel like I'm truly just allowing the Lord to work through me rather than from my own words, and also just trying to keep it with my schedule. So happy Jesus talks on Wednesday. This is the new day that episodes are going to be going live, and I'm excited for today, and just the way that the Lord's gonna work. Today's topic is something that the Lord has really been working in my heart, honestly, for probably over a month now. This is the episode that I was going to do a couple weeks ago, but that day the Lord had put something else on my heart, so I'm excited to now finally be doing this episode, but with some added things to it, because from then to now the Lord has added some stuff, so it's just so sweet and so cool. So we're gonna go ahead and dive on into my Jesus moment, and then we'll get into today's episode. So my Jesus moment is from this past Sunday. I got to go to a Brandon Lake concert with some of my friends that the Lord truly has just knitted into my life from church. Got to experience worship with them and with 15,000 other people, which was so incredible. And just the Holy Spirit was so tangible in the room, and just being able to feel him the whole entire time we were there, and just getting to laugh and have fun with them. The Lord is just so kind in the way that he brings people into our lives and the way that he knits things together, and it's just so sweet. And these friendships truly are such a gift to me, and it's something that I prayed for. So just to be living an answered prayer has been such a blessing, and I'm just so grateful to the Lord for it. And that's just my Jesus moment from this past week, and I loved it. I say this pretty often, but if you aren't following the Jesus Talks Instagram, go follow it and comment on one of the posts some Jesus moments that are happening in your life, and also any prayer requests or anything. I would love to hear them. That way I can just continue to pray for you guys and just join you in the prayers that you might be praying. Moving forward in today's episode, we are going to be talking about the image of God and how we are his image bearers. We're the vessels that he lives within. And yeah, I'm excited for today's episode genuinely. Um, so I pray that you guys are too. We're gonna go ahead and dive into prayer and just get into this episode. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this time that we just get to spend together in your word. And learning just about our image that is in you, learning about the creation that you made us and how we can just live as your image bearers and continue to live for you, Father. I pray that through today's time that you would just open our eyes to see you more and to love on you and get to learn from you, Lord. I pray that you soften our hearts to receive everything you have in store for us today. And it's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen. So we are going back to the beginning. We're gonna be in Genesis one today, and this is literally the beginning of everything where the Lord created man, and it's just really exciting because the Lord literally lays it out for us that He created us in His image, but we're just gonna learn more about that today. Genesis one, twenty-six through twenty-seven. 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 own image, in the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them. When I was sitting and reflecting on this passage of scripture and really just kind of taking it in bit by bit, word by word, asking the Lord, how am I going to dive even deeper into the image of who you are? I have some notes here that I had originally taken, but I want to start with something that actually my pastor said this past Sunday that goes along perfectly with this, and genuinely I think that's why the Lord had me wait on this episode because he wanted me to hear this. Our series at church right now is talking about becoming a woman of God. We had a becoming a man of God series about a year ago now, and now we're talking about becoming a woman of God, and with that, our pastor keeps going back to the image of God and how we were created in it. But he was explaining, and as he was explaining it, I feel like the Lord was, I guess, downloading into my brain just talking to me, and it was so cool. But our pastor was talking about how when God had just created Adam, he said it was not good for man to be alone, and that is why he created Eve. And when he created Eve, he said it is very good. So the difference between just man being alone, it was not good for him to be alone, but once Eve was created, it was very good. So there's a big difference between those two. And our pastor went even deeper into the context of saying the reason that it was not good is because only 50% of God's image was created at that point when Adam was created. But once Eve was created, the full image of God had been created. The same way in Genesis 1, 26 through 27, so God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them. So he created both in his image, not just one or the other, both were created in his image. Once that full picture was created, that is when it was very good because the full image of God had been created. And we're gonna start with how Jesus is. So Jesus is first a provider or protector or savior, obviously, and he is the head of the church. These traits fall into a man because a man is the head of the house, he is the provider, he is the protector, he is the strength, the person in charge of his family. Where the traits of Jesus that are gentle, kind, uplifting, those traits are the image of God inside a woman. Whereas we are a helper for our husband, we get to uplift our family, and we get to be that nurturing, that gentle side, that caring side. Not saying that men don't have those traits because absolutely they do, but seeing those traits more apparent in women, and then also the other traits more apparent in men, it's just so cool to me. And then once you get married, man and woman, you become one. I'm sure you guys have heard it, it's in the Bible. You become one because you're coming together unified in one image, and that image is God. So when you become one, you're creating the full image of God, not just half or half. A man and a female coming together and getting married creates the full image of God. And that is so beautiful. It's so cool how every part of the gospel fits together to go back to the foundation of just who God is, and God is love. And that is the foundation of everything because of Jesus dying on the cross. That was the most ultimate act of love that we've ever witnessed on this earth. Jesus dying on the cross showed us the ultimate act of love, and that is the foundation for everything. So when you have that foundation of love and you have your 50-50, but you come together in one image created by God, coming together, creates the full image of him once you become unified as husband and wife. And I just think that's so cool. So I just had to start with that because I feel like that gives a good foundation for going into today's episode about how we are made in the image of God. So now that we have that little base foundation and knowledge, I want to just dive into really the image that we were created in and how we can live out as this image. And I want to start off with a little bit of just my testimony. I really used to struggle with depression in many different ways of just feeling like I had to prove myself to a lot of people. If I didn't prove myself, I would get really frustrated with myself. And I still honestly deal with this every once in a while, where if I don't do good at something, I'll get really frustrated with myself. But also, it was to the point where if somebody didn't like me or if I didn't succeed at something, I would just beat myself up about it. And some of that turned into just not liking myself, my own skin, not being comfortable in the vessel, the temple that the Lord gave me, because our body is a temple. The Lord created us and he lives inside of us, and the Holy Spirit is protected by the temple, which is us. We are that temple, we are that vessel. And genuinely, I think so many girls, but also so many guys struggle with this too, where we look at ourselves in the mirror and we just see everything that is wrong with us when we look at ourselves, and we're not even seeing the beautiful parts that the Lord sees. This season honestly has been really hard for me being in an engaged season because as like a soon-to-be bride, you want to be beautiful on your wedding day and you want to feel confident in your own skin. And I was actually talking to my fiance about this the other day, but I have really been pushing myself to try to work out more and just try to get in shape, trying to become skinny. And he kept asking me, he was like, Are you doing this for the right reasons? Like, you don't have to change. I love you just the way you are. You don't need to change at all. And finally, one day when he said it to me, it's like it was really the Lord speaking through him because I just kind of realized, like, why am I doing this? Not for the fact that I don't want to move my body, but I just had to reflect and be like, why am I working out right now? Is it because I am trying to take care of the temple that the Lord's given me? Or is it because I am trying to become skinny for my wedding? And reflecting on that, I just realized, okay, I was trying to do this to become skinny for my wedding. And I had to sit with the Lord and just ask him, like, God, how do I go about this in a more healthy way with you? How do I go about this to where I can start viewing myself the way that you view me, and you don't see anything that's wrong with me, and you see me as your beautiful, perfect creation because I am made in your image, and your image is beautiful and perfect and gentle and loving, and it was just a really heart check moment for me. And then the Lord opened my eyes to this, where I looked up the Hebrew word that was used for image in the Bible, and I also looked up the word image on Google and got the definition for it. Google's definition of image is a representation of the external form of a person or thing in art. The Hebrew definition for image that is in the Bible is reflecting God's nature, not his physical appearance. And the word for image in Hebrew is bestellum. It's B apostrophe T S E L E M, bestellum. And it really just hit me so hard when I looked at these definitions because they are so far from each other and so different. And it just opened my eyes to seeing like the worldly view that our society, social media, everything around us, the worldly view of image is completely different from the biblical view of image in the way that God actually intended for image to be viewed as. A worldly view of image is a representation of the external form of a person or thing in art, whereas the biblical definition of image or bestellum is reflecting God's nature, not his physical appearance. So there I was, literally sitting in my bathroom, crying, reflecting, and God hits me with this, and he just reminds me, You were made in my image, and this is what my image is. It has nothing to do with what I see on the outside, it has nothing to do with what people see on my social media, it has nothing to do with whether my hair is brushed that day, whether I've got a pimple on my face, whether my outfit looks whack. Like it doesn't have anything to do with my outward appearance. I was made in the image of God, and that has everything to do with the fruits of his spirit, with the inner being, and nothing to do with my physical appearance. And I'm not sitting here saying that I've made it, that I understand this fully. I'm sitting here saying that I'm continuing to learn this, and it's encouraging me because every single day I'll look at myself and I'm like, oh, I've got to get my eyebrows done. I need to brush my hair, like, oh, my hair looks a little too greasy today. I need to like do this, I need to do that to try to fix myself. And the Lord just so gently and kindly reminds me, you are still beautiful, whether you haven't washed your hair in four days because it's not hair wash day yet, or you haven't got your eyebrows waxed in a little bit because you're trying to budget for your wedding, or you haven't worked out in a couple of days, that does not make you any less beautiful to the Lord. And that's not the image that He wants you to see. He wants you to see His image when you look at yourself because we have come to this context in our society, in our lives now that we have to fit this certain criteria to be accepted by other people. But why are we trying to be accepted by other people when we're not even reaching to try to be accepted by the Lord? Other people aren't going to get you into the gates of heaven. I not trying to be blunt, but genuinely, they're not gonna get you into the gates of heaven. Only Jesus can. Only Jesus can do that. So why are we caring about what this random person on Instagram thinks about us when Jesus literally states in the Bible that he created us in his perfect and beautiful image? And when we start reflecting on that and really dwelling in that image, it becomes an outward appearance to where the world will look at us and be like, whoa, something's different about her. What is different about her? She has this like certain glow, and I'm sure that y'all have heard of the Jesus glow. And I truly and 100% believe in that because when I started following the Lord and started gaining confidence in the Lord, again, I'm not sitting here saying I've made it with him because I still struggle with it on a daily basis, and I just have to constantly remind myself of it. But when I started following him and gaining my confidence with him, I felt this lightness inside of me. And that lightness becomes contagious because where there is darkness, the light is going to outshine it. And the Lord is always going to shine through you. So once you start dwelling in the image that He's created you in, which is the inner part, your heart, your heart posture, the way you treat people, the kindness, your personality traits are the image that God created you in, not your physical traits. And I just want us all to hear that today. Like myself too. Thank you, Lord, for this like revelation, because genuinely I need to hear it too. He created you in his personality image, his traits, his fruits of the spirit, not his physical image. As I was also sitting with this, I just started thinking, okay, the Lord created me in his perfect and beautiful image. What is that? What is his image? And I kind of talked about it earlier with the 50-50. Um, and I'm also not saying, again, that men don't have the traits of like gentleness, kindness, like uplifting, like the way that women do. We each have each other's personality traits. They're just stronger in men and they're stronger in women. Also, the true image that the Lord has created us in are the fruits of his spirit, which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, which is patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And I was sitting here just looking at all these and asking the Lord to help me understand them more. Help me understand how to be a bearer of your fruit, a bearer of your image better than I am doing it now. And he literally just showed these to me. They're also in the Bible, but he just brought it back to my mind to show me: hey, this is all I need you to do. I need you to just do this as you walk through your days. Be loving, have that joy that comes from me, have that peace from me that surpasses all understanding. Be patient with other people, be kind, be good, follow my lead. Don't follow the temptations that the enemy is trying to put in front of you. Stay faithful to what I have put before you. Be gentle to those around you, approaching every single circumstance with gentleness and not judgment, because it is not our place to judge. That is the Lord's. The Lord is the ultimate judge, he's the supreme court. We don't have to be the supreme court. We're here sitting as his children, and we're here to be unified as his children. And then also with self-control. My self-control recently is just coming home and being lazy. I have not been taking care of the temple, my body, the temple, the way that I have wanted to. And then I started doing it in an unhealthy way, and I had to take a step back and be like, okay, Lord, teach me how to do this in a healthy way. And he's teaching me self-control in that. Where I'm coming home now, trying not to be lazy, but I'm also trying not to do it in an unhealthy way. And he's showing me like little bits at a time. I don't have to literally work myself to where I'm shaking and I can't walk anymore, but I can move my body in healthy ways and take care of the tempo that he's given me. I can eat healthy, I can praise him and everything that I do. Something that has genuinely become such a joy for me is on Saturday nights, we've been going to play volleyball, me and my fiance, with our group of friends. And it's been so much fun just getting to go do that. And it's honestly like the Sabbath for me. I go to play volleyball. I just thank the Lord the entire time that I'm there because I'm like, thank you, Jesus, for these friends. Thank you for the ability to move my body in this way and play volleyball. And thank you for being outdoors and just being able to be in your creation. It's genuinely so nice because I just get to turn my brain off from work, turn my brain off from wedding, and I get to just enjoy my time with my friends, my friends that the Lord's literally placed in my life. And in that, the Lord has shown me like healthy ways to take care of my body, to bear his image better. Because when you are confident in yourself and the Lord teaches you that confidence, you are able to bear his image better and show other people his image. Going off of that, too, the Lord opened my eyes to this. How are we bearing his image? Are we still living one foot in the world and then one foot for him? Or are we going all in with him and we're like, okay, Lord, teach me how to do this. How do I follow you? How do I bear your image? How do I show people all these fruits of the spirits? How do I be the daughter or the son that you created me to be? How can I show your image, your personality traits, not physical traits? Let me go back to that because it is not about physical traits. It is about personality, heart, your heart. It is about your heart. So how can you show your heart to other people? How can I show Jesus' heart to other people in the best way possible? And I had to reflect on it too, because I'm like, what I'm posting on social media, is it reflecting the Lord? When people look at my social media, can they tell that I love Jesus and that I am his child and I am living for him? Or does it look like I'm just trying to fit in with the world? Because I don't want to. I don't want to fit in with the world. I don't want to look like majority of what's out there right now. Let's be realistic. Our world right now is a scary place. And the enemy has gotten in so many people's heads and is trying to tear so many people down. But the thing is, the Lord has already overcome it. So are we trying to look like the image that's out there in the world that has made us think we have to be this certain way? Or are we standing out and actually showing people I love Jesus boldly and I'm not ashamed of that? And I'm not afraid to say that I praise him and that I love him. What image are we bearing when we're saying that we want to bear the image of God, that we were created in his image, are we actually showing that with our actions? Are we actually showing that on our social medias? Just made me think of this scripture. It's John 17, 14, is where I'm going to start. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world anymore, then I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth. This right here just shows that when we start leaning into the image of God, we are going to stand out. Once we start leaning into the image that He created us to be, the one that isn't physical, we aren't focused on how we're actually looking when we stare at ourselves in the mirror. We're more focused on our hearts and how we're treating people around us, how we're putting ourselves out there, not to impress people around us, because I'm not trying to put out there that I love Jesus to impress others. I'm trying to put out there that I love Jesus. So when people look at me, they see something different and they see that light, and the Lord can work in their life to bring them home back to Him. When we start leaning into God's image that He created us in, His image, He uses that light that when people see us, they see Him and it draws more of His children in. And that is the image that we were created in. That's the image we should be focused on. I pray today that this episode just helped you see that. Helped you see that it has nothing to do with what we physically look like or how we feel about ourselves when we look at ourselves in the mirror. It has everything to do with our heart and this beautiful image that the Lord created us in. And also, how are we putting that image out there? Are we putting it out there as the fruits of his spirit, being that light for other people so they can see it and that they're drawn closer to Jesus? Or are we trying to fit in and still be a part of the world? John 17 showed us that when we follow Jesus, we are no longer of the world. So once we start following him and we learn how to be bearers of the image that he created us in, we have to allow him to use us in ways that we stand out. And we shouldn't be nervous about that. We shouldn't be ashamed of that. We should rejoice in it, knowing that one day we're going to be rejoicing in the kingdom with him. Because, like I said earlier in this episode, Jesus is the only one that can get us into heaven. No one else's opinion will get you there. Only Jesus will. And that's when you accept him fully into your heart and confess it with your mouth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and he rose on the third day. He died and rose again for you, and he created you in this image, so he could then use you to bring other people to him. What a gift that is. We get to be bearers of his image, show him to other people, and rejoice so they can actually be in heaven with us. So they're not burning in the pits of hell, but they actually get to rejoice in heaven with us. That should be our want as his children. Not only should we want to lean into this image that he created us in and learn more about it, but we should want to share it with other people so they get to lean into it as well. Because also, as we lean into it, we gain confidence. We start to love the person that God created us to be. We start to, in turn, be able to love others better because we're starting to love the person that God created us as. We're loving the vessel that he created. We're loving who he is turning us into. Every single day I thank the Lord just the way that he's changed my heart and he continues to change my heart. It's just so awesome and it's so cool. And I could ramble on all day because I just get giddy about this stuff. I get excited because praise the Lord, I just get to sit here and rejoice with him and bear his image and show other people what he is like. It has nothing to do with me. It's all Jesus. I just get to share that with people, and that's so fun. So I pray that today you guys got that as well. I know this wasn't the longest episode in the world, but also I feel like this is a good stopping point. I feel like the Lord's like, you said everything I wanted you to share, and he loves you so much. And if you don't have a relationship with him, he wants a relationship with you. He wants a relationship with you so bad that he died on the cross and rose again for you, so you would have a bridge into heaven to be with him. All you have to do is believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that he is your Lord and Savior, and he died and rose again. And you just have to follow him, and his ways are so much better than anything on this earth because he's gonna lead you into everlasting life rather than sitting in persecution for the rest of our lives. I pray that you guys have an amazing week, and I will see you in the next episode.