What it means to be human...

  Genesis 1:26-27 

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
  So God created man in his own image,
       in the image of God he created him;
       male and female he created them.

This passage is foundational to the truth that humanity is God's idea and that God Himself is the originator of humans. The humans God created in Gen.1 were sinless. Unfortunately they did not remain in this state due to their disobedience of God's command not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of God and evil. It is interesting though how Scripture defined humanity in this verse. From this passage one sees that it is the image of God in man that makes him human. To quote Millard Erickson "the real human is the being that came from the hand of God unspoiled by sin and the fall." 

How different from the world's view of humanity. In today's world humanity is synonymous to worldliness and sinfulness. Failure and sin is justified by expressions like "I am only human." I will admit that I too have walked in this path of using my "humanness" as an excuse for my unrighteous acts. Truth is because of sin, the image of God, which is what makes me human, has been marred. Sin has morphed me into a being that does not align with God's definition of humanity. Thankfully God has sent His Son Jesus the ONE true example of what it means to be human in this world. He is the One I am to follow. In Him I am to live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28). Praise God that in Christ and through the working of the Spirit in my life, I am being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor.3:18). Thanks be to God! In Christ I can be a human the way God intended a human to be. In Christ I do not have to be a slave to sin for in Christ I have been set free. To live as Christ lived...this is what it means to be human.

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