In His Own Image

My Mom used to tell me I look like my Dad. Brown eyes, brown hair, skinny. Well, at least the brown eyes are still true. Ha! As I get older, I'm kinda proud that I look like my Dad. Family resemblance makes us feel connected to one another. Even though I used to long for green eyes, I'm glad I have brown like everyone else in my family.

But I look my other Father, too. And so do you.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." Genesis 1:26

 "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

We are created in God's own image! Humans don't look like we do just by chance. It was by design. Everything about us -- from our brains to our skin to our bones to the tiniest cell in our body -- was created with purpose. We are truly amazing creatures!

But even though God made it abundantly clear that He formed us, there are those who simply refuse to believe. Lately there are stories in the news declaring that life came from Mars (http://www.space.com/22577-earth-life-from-mars-theory.html) and outer space.  There's the theory that we came from an ape-like ancestor and single-celled organisms, and Darwin's theory is still taught in schools. Oh, here's a good one: the Aquatic ape theory (http://youtu.be/uTe9qVEAcXk). Hilarious!! This article gives the complete story of evolution beginning with how the universe was formed. After reading it, I can honestly say it's far easier to believe in God than this amazingly far-fetched theory. I understand the importance of science, but when "progress" in science takes you farther and farther away from God, then you have a real problem. And ultimately you have a choice: Are you going to believe God or man?

I find it incredibly sad that so many, many people deny their Creator. What is so terrible about believing that God formed you with His own hand? What's so awful about believing that He loves you so much that He created you with a plan? Wouldn't it be so much better to know you were specifically designed for a purpose rather than believing you were here just by chance?

Life is such a beautiful gift. From the very beginning to the very end. God, our loving Father, designed it that way. I'll leave you with this beautiful video of a set of twins who have just been born but are not aware of it yet. It's like a little peak into their life in the womb. So incredibly precious.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=592c93b2ed2c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

(Watch it here if the embedded link doesn't work.)

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This week's Prayer Shout Out countries are:
USA, Russia, France, Germany, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Ukraine, South Korea, Argentina, Poland, Panama, Spain, Netherlands, Malaysia, Bangladesh