Loving well: How the image of God changes everything

I stood at the curb hugging her when I heard her say, “I wish this moment could last a little longer.” My spicy, smart, oldest child.

I never expected her to say this; it almost broke me to get in the car and drive away. Rarely had we seen eye to eye, but we were on the same page that day. I looked back at her image once more, willing myself to remember.

Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.

We strive to make everything right, when releasing and letting go is a better choice. It’s easy to allow circumstances to manipulate who we think we are.

As I drove away that day, I struggled with this: when life feels smooth, we feel good; when life feels bumpy, we feel stressed. But our identity is the same in both situations. We are loved, purely and completely.

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

In the image of God, our identity in Christ is crafted in holy love.

A love composed of goodness and kindness and faithfulness, of patience and gentleness and compassion. Of grace and mercy and forgiveness.

Love nurtures and covers over all. It is the foundation that never changes and never fails, no matter what storm rages around us.

Our parenting wasn’t perfect. We passed on generational hurts even though we thought we were doing our best. God has a way of refining us in tough family relationships. We think, "If only they would change!" But, ultimately, we’re only responsible for changing ourselves.

At some point, God revealed a mystery that changed everything.

He helped me see His image in other people’s eyes. For the first time in my life, I could accept people because I believed God was within them.

Being made in the image of God means we are made in the fullness of love. A love that illuminates the colorful mosaic of God’s image in all of us, where grace and mercy are abundant.

We remember holy love, and trade perfectionism for humility, control for acceptance, and judgment for grace. Our identity in Christ allows us to offer this love freely to imperfect people, even ourselves. When everything else is taken away, love remains.

Did you end up with a life you don’t recognize? One you didn’t plan for?

Look and see God’s image in the person next to you, your most difficult relationship, and yourself. There’s beauty in trusting God here: in the unknown, the unfinished, the unproven. It invites us to believe that no matter what’s happening, the image of God’s love is present in all of us.

The floodgates are open, and the riches of grace and peace rush in.

Scripture for meditation

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14, NIV).

Prompts for reflection and journaling

How has love repaired, redeemed, and restored difficult relationships in your own life?

How can you act justly toward all people, knowing that God sees all of us the same?

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