11.0pt”>
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isaiah 43:18-21)
In God, there is hope for me and my family. Whether I am a granddad or a teenager, single, married, a parent or not, there is hope in God for my family. Be still and allow the Lord to speak hope to your heart.
We live in an imperfect world and it is all too easy to get used to the way things are, even though that may be second best or really bad. Imagine that you are the owner of a rusty old bicycle. It is so old that it is hard work to pedal on the flat but you are happy with the way it rattles along. After all it is the only bicycle in the district. Then your friend who is a mechanic in town comes home. He takes a horrified look at your old bike and sets to work with spanners, screwdrivers and oil. In an hour it’s a completely different machine. You wonder how you could ever have been satisfied with the way it was.
Family can be like the old bicycle. It is in need of repair but we don’t realize because “that’s the way things are.” Families for Life is a celebration of the beauty and transforming power of family in the plan of God. It may seem strange to start a celebration by looking at what is wrong but unless we face up to the mess and ugliness of many marriages and families today we will not see the contrast with the glorious possibilities God has prepared for us to enjoy.
Family existed before the beginning of the world. “The heavens declare the glory of God” – (Psalm 19:1). ‘Since the creation ofTthe world God’s invisible qualities His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen’ (Romans
Genesis chapter 1 is a magnificent account of creation. The climax comes as God creates people in His own image. That phrase ‘in His image’ marks human beings out as different to everything else God made. If the heavens declare the glory of God, how much more should His glory be seen in us! Let us consider what it means.
There are lots of ideas about how people are different from animals a bigger brain, creativity, communication and so on. These are helpful but in the chapter itself two significant differences stand out as marks of God’s image.
Rule
See how closely ‘rule’ is linked to the image and likeness of God in verse 26. God rules the universe and to rule is the job description He gives to people. It is repeated in verse 28. As sinful people we have not always been responsible in our rule. We have sometimes spoilt the environment by our selfish use of limited resources. Yet it is remarkable how people do rule.
Think how a child can drive cattle or ride donkeys even though much weaker than them. Look at the crops people grow or the grand buildings that we make. In our aeroplanes we fly further, faster and higher than any bird. With cell-phone and emails we communicate across the world. In a real sense, people have obeyed God’s command to rule. This is a mark of His image in us.