Last week’s sermon looked at how being made in the image of God means humans share some of God’s glory. If an image is designed to reflect or represent something/someone, then humans are designed to reflect God’s glory.
This does not mean humans can create our own glory. Like a mirror can create its own image, humans can only reflect the glory of things/people around them. This is why the modern notion of looking within to find your identity simply doesn’t work. Those who try, end up demanding that others affirm their identity, which usually has something to do with their sexuality. The reason people become quite tyrannical in this is humans can only reflect the glory (or identity) given them by others.
This means we have an important choice to make. Do we want to reflect the glory of people or things around us (e.g. I’m an engineer, I’m rich, or I’m loved by this person), or would we rather shine with the infinitely more awesome, impressive and important glory of God? The way we shine brightest as humans is to understanding that we are first and foremost a beloved child of God, in whom He delights.
Genesis 1:26-27 outlines the 2 main ways in which humans can reflect God’s glory; i.e. shine with the glory of God in the world. This is (i) in ruling the planet the way God wants us to rule it, and (ii) in relating to people the way God relates to people. As such, if Christians wish to shine with the brightest glory available, we must play our part in (a) subduing the world (Gen 1:28); i.e. keeping it in order, and (b) taking care of it (Gen 2:15); i.e. not exploiting it.
So how brightly are we shining as Christians? Does the world see and enjoy the glory of God through seeing how Christians work to take care of God’s planet for him? Or do they see people who are no different to themselves; i.e. shining with the glory of lesser things?
