Dave's Diary

For those who are new to the Blog, WELCOME!

For those who have been around for a while, let’s start the week with a quick reminder:

This year, these devotions will focus on following Jesus by obeying everything He has commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20). The three highest level commands Jesus gave us were to Love God, Love one another, and Love our neighbour. Throughout the year we will study the many ways Jesus taught us to obey these commands. But for the first three weeks we’re considering the “why“. Two weeks ago, we considered why we ought to love the Lord as He has commanded us to. Last week, we considered why we are commanded to love one another as fellow disciples of Christ.

This week, we will reflect on why we are commanded to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

Prayer before Reading:

Join the Psalmist in this simple prayer before you read, “LORD, open my eyes to see wonderful things in your Word.” (Psalm 119:18)

Now spend a moment quietly getting focused on the Lord’s presence before you read.

Daily Reading

Genesis 1:26-31 and Psalm 8

I’d like to suggest that the first reason we are called and commanded to love our neighbours is because they are created in the image of God.

Genesis 1 declares right from the start: Every human being is an image-bearer of God. We are created to represent and reflect something of God to each other and to the rest of creation.

For this reason, Psalm 8:5 describes humanity as “crowned with glory and honour”. The “honour” part of this statement is simple to understand. What an honour it is to be created in God’s image! Perhaps “glory” needs more explaining, though. In Scripture, “glory” is the beautiful, physical manifestation of God’s presence. So, in Psalm 8, the Word wants us to grasp that we and our fellow human beings were originally created by God to physically represent His beautiful presence in the world. This is mind-blowing!

Every single human being on the planet has inherent value based purely on the fact that we are, by nature, image-bearers of God Himself.

Adding to the sense of awe in relation to this truth, Psalm 139 says to God:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

Now pause and consider how easy it is to accept that this is true of yourself, and how difficult it can be to hold in mind when it comes to someone who is very different to you in character, culture or behaviour.

We are to love our neighbours because they are honourable and glorious, simply by virtue of the fact that they are fearfully and wonderfully created by God in His own image. But let’s be honest enough to acknowledge that, at times, we will need great grace from God to see it that way.

Contemplation:

Please take time to ponder this truth. Turn one or more of these statements over and over in your mind:

• Everyone I will meet today was individually created by God to bear His image.
• Therefore, everyone I meet is to be treated with honour.
• And God has called me to love them as His image-bearers.
• How can I do that well today?

Holy Spirit, please open my eyes to recognise everyone I meet as a unique image-bearer, created by God; and help me to treat them accordingly. Amen.