(c) 2009, Amy S. Lewis
I find it fascinating to observe the way breeders choose studs and mares they cross. They go to great lengths to get what they hope will be a favorable outcome. They’ll study blood lines, colorings, performance records, conformation, past foals, videos and health histories. They’ll travel the country or the world to see horses in person. And the costs involved – stud fees, mare care, vet bills. All to predict the somewhat unpredictable, to increase the chances for a known outcome. Fortunately, these efforts sometimes payoff. Other times, recessive genes rear their ugly head, resulting in undesirable markings, lack of speed or “cowiness,” or conformation or health issues. Sometimes a disappointing result has no explanation.
God has gone to great lengths in creating us as well. He has made each of us wonderfully complex, according to Psalm 139. And Genesis tells us that we are made in his image, which we know is incomprehensibly complex.
Genesis 1:27: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Think what that means! Just like a horse breeder carefully chooses his crosses for a predictable outcome, the Lord has created each of us to take after him. He has shaped each of us as a potter shapes a clay pot; as a breeder calculates the odds of a desirable foal. In our case, there are no disappointing results – we are exactly as God designed us.
The complexity of each of our bodies, our spirits, our thoughts and emotions is a sign of God’s love for us. He certainly would not go to so much trouble if he didn’t love us, would he?
How does that make you feel? Honored? Do you sense a responsibility to become more Godly or to serve him because you’ve gained an understanding that we were created in His image? If you tend to have a critical self image how can this realization change your thinking about who you are physically, emotionally and spiritually?
Know and trust that you have been made exactly as God designed you.
Romans 9:20b: Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Questions for reflection:
1. If you have bred a horse, how have you chosen the mare and stud crosses? What were the outcomes of those matches? What results were as you predicted?
2. How does it make you feel to know that you have been made by God and in His image?
3. In what ways do feel like you don’t measure up to your own or others’ expectations? Why? When do these emotions arise?
