Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:26–27
Contrary to what so many are led to believe, the Bible says that God created man from the dust of the ground in His own likeness. While our physical image may share characteristics with some of God’s other created beings (i.e., arms, legs, eyes), it was into man alone that He breathed an immortal soul (Gen. 2:7; Ecc. 12:7). While there is still an insurmountable gap between our ways and God’s (Isa. 55:8–9), our goal should be to become more like Him every day (Matt. 5:48; 6:33). But how?
We become more like God when we do as He does. We all know that children tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps. They inherit all of their physical traits from their mother and father. When you look at them or listen to them, you can always see their parents. The Bible tells of kings who did exactly as their fathers did. For some this was good (1 Kgs 3:3; 2 Kgs. 15:3); for others it was bad (1 Kgs. 15:3, 26). Jesus always did as His Father does (John 5:17–21; 8:28; 10:37–38). He pointed out to the Jews that they also did the works of their father, the devil (John 8:38–44). Whose child do our works declare us to be?
We become more like Him when we love as He loves. Love is inextricably bound up in God’s very nature, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). To be like Him, we must love, starting with our brethren. John declares that it is impossible to love God and hate His children (1 John 5:1–3). To be like Him, our love must also be without discrimination, for He is “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). To be like Him, we must love even our enemies, for this is what God does (Matt. 5:43–48; Rom. 5:6–10).
We also become more like God when we honor our word. We serve a God who always keeps His word. He has kept His word to Noah for over thousands of years (Gen. 9:9–11)! He kept His word to make Abraham a “father of many nations” (Gen. 17:4–6). If we want others to see His likeness in us, we must be known as men and women of our word (Num. 30:2; Ecc. 5:1–6; Matt. 5:33–37). Those who fail to honor their commitments to spouses, to business clients, to friends and neighbors, and to God are not showing any resemblance to Him.
We become more like Him when we demonstrate faithfulness. God is the ultimate example of faithfulness. He keeps covenants for a thousand generations (Deut. 7:9). He is faithful to provide (Gen. 22:8) and to forgive (1 John 1:9). Great is His faithfulness (Lam. 3:23)! If we are God’s children, we will be faithful marriage partners, faithful citizens, faithful employees and employers, faithful members of His body, and faithful stewards of His blessings.
We become more like Him when we forgive others. If He is always so willing and eager to pardon us, shouldn’t His children be eager to forgive one another (Matt. 18:21–35)? Paul tells us to be kind to one another and forgive one another “even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31–32).
God tells us repeatedly to seek to be like Him: “Be holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Clearly we will never be as holy, as merciful, or as perfect as He is, but when these become our goals, others will see Him in us! A child trying to walk in his father’s broad steps will always fall short, but it is the humble and loving spirit that the Father loves so much!