Created to be With God
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
The fact that we are created in the image of God is very significant in both this life and in our eternal life. God molds us to conform to the image of his Son and it is critical that we have the mind and heart of Jesus. It is having the mind and heart of Jesus that gives us spiritual life to the full, and the desire to serve the Lord and to be close to him. We will never be perfectly complete until we are in the presence of the Father and the Son. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are always in perfect agreement and their minds are in perfect agreement because they are connected by perfect love. We are connected to the Lord by his love in our hearts because God is love. The more our minds are Christ-like and the more love God puts in our hearts, the closer we are to him. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) Without the Father and the Son, heaven would not be heaven. In heaven, we will be perfectly connected to the Father and the Son. Our thoughts and our love will perfectly connect us to the Father and the Son, just as the Father and the Son are connected. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18) Do you think the power that is to be revealed in us comes from being perfectly connected to the Father and the Son?
In this life, we are filled with God’s love. As we reflect his love to the world, he fills us with more love, molding us to conform to the image of his Son, having the same mind and heart. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20) We cannot be perfectly connected to the Lord in this life because we live in a fallen world tempted by Satan, but in Heaven we will experience perfect thoughts, love, and power, because there will be no temptation.
Today, realize you were created in the image of God and that means you are created to be with God. The closer you are to God, the better life becomes because only God can fulfill our spiritual soul.
Prayer: Lord, guide me in the Spirit to serve you because that will make me more Christ-like and bring me closer to you. In Jesus name, Amen