“What Does It Mean to Be Made in the Image of God?”

How would you explain what it means to be made in the image of God to a brand new Christian or someone who hasn’t made that decision?

Great question! I think the bottom line is that God made us like Himself so that other parts of creation can see what He is like by looking at us and how we act. Since God is not physical, it’s not a resemblance in our bodies, but is the immaterial, inside parts of us. Kind of like how family values and habits can be seen among family members. We are all made in the image of God, but sometimes people lie about what God is like when they act in ways that are NOT the image of God, such as cruelty or not being kind and loving.

Let me give you three different aspects of what I found.

Got Questions has a couple of good answers:

What does it mean that humanity is made in the image of God?
www.gotquestions.org/image-of-God.html

What does it mean when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26)?
www.gotquestions.org/let-Us-make-man-in-Our-image.html

And to my surprise, I really liked the answer I got from Meta AI with the prompt, “Explain to a child what it means to be made in the image of God”:

What a wonderful topic!

So, you know how sometimes you might draw a picture of your family or friends? You try to make the drawing look like them, with their same smile, eyes, and hair. It’s like a special copy of them.

Well, when the Bible says we’re made in the image of God, it means that God created us to be like Him. Not exactly like Him, because He’s God and we’re humans, but we have some special qualities that are similar to His.

Here are a few things that make us like God:

We can love: Just like God loves us, we can love our family, friends, and even people we don’t know. We can show kindness, care, and compassion to others.

We can think and create: God is super creative and wise. He made the whole universe! We can also think, imagine, and create things like art, music, and stories.

We have a conscience: God knows right from wrong, and He wants us to know the difference too. We have a special voice inside that helps us choose good over bad.

We can talk and communicate: God speaks to us through the Bible and in our hearts. We can talk to Him through prayer, and we can communicate with each other using words.

We are special and valuable: God thinks we’re so valuable that He sent His own Son, Jesus, to save us. We’re like precious jewels to Him!

Being made in God’s image doesn’t mean we’re perfect, though. We still make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t. But it means we have the potential to be like God in many amazing ways.

So, remember: you’re a special creation, made to love, think, create, and shine like God!

Hope you find this helpful.

Sue