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Genesis 1:26-27 – Married to the Image of God
In the beginning God said, Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; … God created man in His own image in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Gen.1:26-28)
What can we learn about improving our marriages from the beginning chapter on marriage?
1 – Both men and women, husbands and wives, are made in the image and likeness of God. That glorious fact, more than anything else, should signify how we treat others, especially our “significant other.”
James 3:9-10 – With it (i.e., our tongue) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; (10) from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
How often do we view our spouse as being made in the image of God? When troubles come and grow, isn’t it because we are focusing more on whatever secular image we have created in our mind as to what a husband or wife should be instead of remembering that our spouse is made in the image of God? When the wife looks at the husband clinging to the remote control, with his pot-bellied beverage holder supporting his bag of potato chips, admittedly it is difficult to remember – “He’s made in the image of God!” When the husband looks at the wife, disheveled from chasing obedience-challenged children, with her messed up hair and the aroma of baby puke, it is challenging to think – “She’s made in the image of God.”
And yet, would such a focus keep our tongues in check? Would belittling, demeaning, and hurtful comments cease? Likewise would belittling, demeaning, and hurtful thoughts and comparisons also cease or at least diminish? As a husband or wife, can you see yourself screaming at or hitting someone made in the image of God? As a husband or wife, can you imagine cheating on the image of God?
Perspective – how we view our spouse – can change everything. Instead of looking at how they please us, or don’t please us, we should instead see how they reflect God. Instead of seeing the extra weight they have gained through the years, we can instead focus on the eternal spirit hopefully headed for heaven. And if we want to help our spouses see us in this light, then we need to start acting like we are made in the image of God.
2 – Both men and women, husbands and wives, are made to be partners with one another.
That pragmatic fact demonstrates that a relationship of working together is what God has planned for all of mankind, and especially couples married to each other. Husbands and wives were not created to constantly cause friction between each other. They were designed to function together as one. While “ruling” and “subduing” the earth might be a pretty challenging responsibility, it does have a less grandiose application – work together as partners.
And yet couples working together, whether raising children, or household projects, can be incredibly stressful on a marriage. In fact, don’t we often find it easier to work with friends than with our spouse, whether painting the house, working in the yard, or any other project? Why? From a practical standpoint, we didn’t marry someone based upon their compatibility in chores! I doubt any of us got married because we like the way he/she handled that paint brush! But more seriously, we often feel less guarded in the way we treat and speak to our spouses than we do our friends. In other words, too often we simply treat our friends better than our spouses, even when doing tedious and stressful chores. This goes back to the first point – our partner is created in the image of God.
God created us to work together as equals. The next time you look at your spouse, remember they are your spiritual equal, and that both of you are made in the image and likeness of God.
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