Remember Who You Are

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

We are created to be image bearers.  The Hebrew says we are made in God's "tselem" (image) ~ not an exact duplicate; a shadow of a thing.  We are not an exact duplicate of God, just like our kids are not an exact duplicate of my husband and I~ but they are each a "shadow" of us...they bear our image.  When Jonathan was younger, people would look at him and say "Jon is just a little Greg".  Or when Lindsay and I are together, our family and friends mention how similar our expressions are and how we sound like one another.  When you look at your children, they reflect your image:  eye color, hair, mannerisms, tall/short, etc...  Have you  ever said, "Oh my gosh, I sound just like my mom"!

Mankind was the climax of God's creative activity~the visible representation of God in all creation.  "...the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being,"  Genesis 2:7. God breathed His Spirit into Adam to create life.  No other created being has the breath of God as the beginning of life. 

 I John 3:1 tells us, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God."  That is who we are; created in His image.  


How do you reflect your Father?  How do you bear His image?  What qualities of your Father do you see in yourself?  Do you even know who you are?  

Royal blood flows through you.  You have the KING'S DNA as His son or daughter!  DNA is called the "language of life". It is like a barcode that each individual has~ it is the instruction manual for building the proteins that make up the cells of your body.  Scientists have mapped 3 billion codes of the human genome~ a project that filled the equivalent of 75,490 pages.  Francis S. Collins head of the Human Genome Project said that DNA was "our own instruction book, previously known only to God".  There are over 6 feet of DNA tightly coiled inside every one of our body's 100 trillion cells.  30,000 cells are in the space of the typed letter o. 

You are destined for greatness.  You are the King's son or daughter.   You are seated in heavenly places.  You will rule and reign.  You are loved.  You are chosen.  You are called to adventure. You are royalty.  

"Our perceptions of ourselves manifest in the way we live life.  If you believe there is greatness in you, your life will demonstrate that reality."  Banning Liebscher (Jesus Culture)

Unfortunately, the enemy has stolen identity from God's beloved ones and that began with Eve in Genesis 3.  Satan twisted what God spoke and she took hold of his lies.   Nothing has changed.  He is a liar and the father of lies...in contrast to our Father, who is Truth.  He only speaks Truth.  

Eve listened to a lie (she got close to the serpent & engaged in conversation).
Eve dwelled on the lie (she considered what the serpent said instead of disregarding it).
Eve believed the lie (she believed the lie of the serpent's promise over the Truth of God's words).
Eve acted on the lie (she ate & offered it to her husband).

Who are you listening to (aligning your thought-life)?  What thoughts do you dwell on?  You need to agree with what God says about you.  Agreeing with God empowers you and releases TRUTH in your heart.  What you focus on will become your belief system.  And from your belief system, you act.  Everyday you are receiving information from the world around you and you are interpreting your experiences.  Your mind filters out that which you have learned to be irrelevant and enables you to focus on what is important.  Pay attention to that which you are meditating on.  

Take a look at this video clip from The Lion King.  SImba has forgotten who he is & whose he is.  He has allowed the enemy to tell him he is a "nobody", but in reality Simba is extraordinary~he has the DNA of  King Mufasa  and he is destined for greatness ~ to be the King of the jungle.  And the enemy knows that if he becomes who he is destined to be, the enemy will be defeated.  As Simba stares into the watering hole, he only sees his reflection (the reflection of a "nobody"), but Rafiki encourages Simba to look deeper into the reflection...to see the ONE who lives in him.  
 
And from the cloud, Simba's father, Mufasa speaks, "Remember who you are.  You have forgotten who you are.  You are more than you have become.  Remember who you are.  You are my son.  Remember."   


As you peer into the watering hole, what do you see?  What is the reflection you  see?   

Let the words of the Father speak to your heart:  REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.  YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO YOU ARE.  YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU HAVE BECOME.  REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.  YOU ARE MY SON.  REMEMBER.