May 5, 2011 - Acts 17:28

“’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts 17:28.
As he is speaking to the Athenian men, Paul quotes phrases from two Greek poets from their past, Epimenides and Aratus. These phrases would most likely have been known by the men in Paul’s audience, as they were very educated and astute thinkers. Paul uses these phrases as a starting point in proclaiming that God is not made by the handiwork of men but is a living being. We are made in the image of God, not the other way around.
There have been times when I have made God in my own image. I’m not exactly sure what that looks like, but I thought that God was all about love. And one aspect of that love was that God would love and accept me no matter what I did or how I acted. No change in character required! What a rude awakening I had! God does love me right where I am, but He doesn’t want to leave me there in that condition. God is so much bigger than that and there is so much more to Him than we can know or understand. The truth be known: I think that all of us tend to make God in our own image. We are just sure that God acts in this certain way because that is the image that I made of Him. Isn’t it about time that we relinquish our image of who God is and fall face down in worship to this awesome, wild God?
Questions to consider: How do you make God in your own image? Have you ever experienced God’s awesome power or experienced Him in a way that totally surprised you? What was that like? What is your response to knowing that you are created in God’s image?
Prayer: Father, I bow before You. You are awesome, holy, and righteous beyond expression. I am humbled by Your sheer power and strength. I am so glad that You are not made in our image, but that You are the creator of all things. Amen.