Recently I was scrolling through Facebook, and came across a post from a friend I knew 40 years ago. Her daughter was just starting high school, and it was her first day. I haven’t seen a photo of this young lady before, so I looked intently at her face, and immediately recognized her mother’s features. Literally, I said out loud (to her) in the quietness of my home, “I see you in her!”

“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

This verse tells us that from the very beginning, humanity was designed and created in the image of God. Since no man has seen God’s face, we don’t know exactly what He physically looks like, but we do know that He is Spirit, who breathed life into us. We do know that He physically took clay and formed man, We do know that He speaks. We do know He took on our form in Jesus to reconcile our sinful nature and draw us back to His character. We do know that He is all things good: patient, kind, generous, sacrificial, eternal, creative, and forgiving. Being made in His image may not mean physically, but it certainly does include, among many other things, countless characteristics, relationships, dominion/authority, morality, language/communication and eternity.

When we become children of God, we inherit the Holy Spirit, who fills us with God’s goodness. This is the reason that we change; in all aspects of our life. The person of the Holy Spirit is God, and when He is living in us, we tend to take on his characteristics: kindness, truth, forgiveness, which essentially are the fruits of the Spirit.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,…”
John 15:5

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.“
Galatians 5:22-23

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid – the genetic information that every parent passes on to their biological children.

Notice how this scientific word begins with ‘deo’. In latin, ‘deo’ means God. So our DNA begins with God! Not only are we created in his image, but when we become children of God, by accepting Jesus his Son as our Lord and Savior, then we also receive his godliness in us through the Holy Spirit. Our entire being is changed. Our old self dies, and our new God-given self is different.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20

The way we live our lives daily is a direct reflection of who we are representing in words and deeds.
So when someone looks at you, sees what you do, hears what you say, and witnesses how you are, will they say, “I see Jesus in you”? Will they say, “I see God in you”?

“By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature…”
2 Peter 1:4

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18

Food for thought: If the answer to ‘Do people see your Heavenly Father in you’ is no, then I suggest going to your Heavenly Doctor and getting your heart checked out. He will likely prescribe a mixture of reading His book, drinking more of His water, living more of His lifestyle, and definitely more regular verbal checkups with Him.

Fun facts: The complete DNA instruction book, or genome, for a human contains about 3 billion bases and about 20,000 genes on 23 pairs of chromosomes. DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. The term “double helix” describes DNA’s winding, two-stranded chemical structure. This shape, which looks like a twisted ladder, gives DNA the ability to pass along biological instructions with great precision.

Photo by: Soledad Lorieto (Unsplash) – A Foal and her Mama Mare